Non-Toxic

<p>Is our “green” future being built on a global sacrifice zone?</p><p>In this episode, I’m joined by my former <em>New Yorker</em> colleague Nicolas Niarchos to discuss his revelatory new book, <em>The Elements of Power</em>. It’s a globe-spanning investigation into the battery supply chain—stretching from the Congo and Indonesia to Israel, China, and the US—revealing how the promise of clean energy is often built on violence, child labor, and systemic corruption.</p><p>With conflict in the Middle East driving up oil prices, many EV owners are feeling a sense of moral (and economic) superiority. But as Nicholas explains, the supply chain powering those batteries is just as ethically fraught as the oil and gas industry, if perhaps a bit more functional at the moment.</p><p>We dive into Nicolas’s firsthand accounts of Congolese mining “crevasses,” where hand-dug pits collapse on workers with terrifying frequency. We also discuss how mineral wealth dictates Congolese politics and why cobalt has become the “new oil” in a high-stakes geopolitical tug-of-war between the US and China.</p><p>Don’t miss the end of our talk: Nicolas shares the harrowing story of his detention by the Congolese secret police while investigating the ties between mining interests, the presidential family, and separatist militias. It is an absolutely insane, must-hear account.</p><p>PS: Nicolas has just launched a brilliant new magazine with another <em>New Yorker</em> alum called <a target="_blank" href="https://nowvoyagermag.com/"><em>Now Voyager</em></a><a target="_blank" href="https://nowvoyagermag.com/">.</a> Their first issue is available now, both online and at newsstands. If you value the kind of deep-dive, boots-on-the-ground reporting we discuss today, you definitely need to check it out.</p><p>This epsiode is sponsored by <a target="_blank" href="https://bluecorncandles.com/collections/beeswax-candles?em_source=google&#38;em_adid=801202775214&#38;em_campaign=15010890142&#38;em_keyword=bluecorn+candles&#38;utm_term=em%3Agoogle%3A801202775214%3A15010890142%3Abluecorn+candles&#38;utm_source=google&#38;utm_medium=paid&#38;utm_campaign=15010890142&#38;utm_content=131639207667&#38;utm_term=bluecorn+candles&#38;gadid=801202775214&#38;gad_source=1&#38;gad_campaignid=15010890142">Bluecorn Candles.</a> Use the code NONTOXIC20 for 20% off your first order.</p><p><p>Non-Toxic Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.</p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>If you’ve been reading the latest batch of the Epstein files, you may have noticed an unlikely name from the world of longevity and “Medicine 2.0”: Dr Peter Attia. To understand the connection between Jeffrey Epstein and Attia, I sat down with Sami Reiss, author of the <a target="_blank" href="https://superhealth.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips">Super Health.</a> An expert in “dark wellness,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gq.com/story/peter-attia-interview">Sami interviewed Attia way back for GQ</a> and has been following his rise (and fall) for a long time now.</p><p>In our chat, he breaks down the history of longevity medicine and Attia’s kind of basic approach to the science of aging. Hint: eat protein and do strength training. We get into <a target="_blank" href="https://superhealth.substack.com/p/attia-and-epstein">the emails showing Attia’s years-long post-conviction relationship with Epstein</a>, and we also touch on Epstein’s broader interest in genetics and eugenics (including a proposed sperm bank of Nobel laureates). And of course we gotta talk about masculinity’s role in all this—especially the obsession with testosterone replacement therapy in the longevity space. Because it’s really all about erections at the end of the day.</p><p>Non-Toxic Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, <a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe">consider becoming a paid subscriber.</a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Are you a genetic loser with a recessed maxilla? Have you been brutally framemogged? Will you ever ascend? Welcome to the world of looksmaxxing, where all your problems can be solved with specially crafted fitness protocols that will change your life, or at least mutilate your face.</p><p>In this episode of Non-Toxic, we’ll be talking about one squarejawed looksmaxxer in particular, Clavicular, whose advice on fitness, skincare, and more extreme methods of changing your appearance have been ricocheting around the internet the past few months. At only 20 years old, Clav has recently risen to fame in part because of his buddy, neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes.</p><p>I decided to go deeper on looksmaxxing, so I invited a new pal onto the show, Madeline Peltz, who’s got a great Substack called <a target="_blank" href="https://numbertwopencil.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips">Number Two Pencil,</a> where she writes about the far-right, Gen Z, and popular culture. Previously, she covered rightwing internet and pop culture for Media Matters. Her forthcoming book, <em>Good Girls and Alpha Male</em>s, is about the conservative movement’s campaign to recruit Gen Z and is slated for publication in Spring 2027.</p><p>Come ascend with us.</p><p>The discourse won’t detoxify itself. To keep the show going, ⁠become a paid Non-Toxic <a target="_blank" href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe">subscriber</a> today⁠.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>In this subscriber-only episode, I talk to writer and broadcaster Richard Seymour about his recent book <em>Disaster Nationalism.</em> Richard breaks down how his concept of disaster nationalism is different from the Coke Classic version of nationalism, and how real and imaginary disasters play into the hands of the far-right. We get into how to exploit social crises and conspiracies and what role masculinity plays in this pyschic morass. And in case you’re sick of hearing about Trump, we zoom out to discuss how all this is playing out beyond the US, touching on disaster nationalist movements in India, Brazil, Hungary, and more. It’s a real corker!</p><p>Want to learn more? You can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.versobooks.com/products/3147-disaster-nationalism?srsltid=AfmBOoq36-zAdRgy_Ec3_Y2KWkp-mcyVjWp0ouF_brtNotXGudDE1hue">buy a copy of Richard’s book through Verso</a>. He’s also the author of numerous other books about politics, including <em>Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics </em>and <em>The Twittering Machine</em>. His writing appears in the <em>The New York Times</em>, the <em>London Review of Books</em>, the <em>Guardian</em>, <em>Prospect</em>, <em>Jacobin</em>, and lots of other places.</p><p>Want to listen to the whole episode? The discourse won’t detoxify itself. To keep the show going, ⁠become a Non-Toxic patron today⁠.</p>

<p>Every year on January 7th, the artist Jay Critchley holds a ceremony inviting attendees to “re-root” themselves to the earth. He also pushes a flaming Christmas tree into the harbor. In this episode from the vault, I visit Jay’s Provincetown studio to discuss everything from his conceptual patriotic condom company to the problem with “carbon captured broligarchs.” And you’re on the Cape and happen to catch it, this year’s theme is “Crypto Himflation”. Enjoy!</p><p>The discourse won’t detoxify itself. To keep the show going, ⁠become a Non-Toxic patron today⁠.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe</a>