The latest “State of the Air” report by the American Lung Association finds air quality has worsened so much that nearly half of people living in the U.S. now breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution. Soot and smog are on the rise in part because climate change heat is bringing more wildfires and low-level ozone-forming conditions. David Cash was the New England Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden, and he joins Host Jenni Doering for an air quality update.

A key climate modeling program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA is slated for near-elimination, according to a draft White House memo. Abrahm Lustgarten investigated these planned cuts for ProPublica and discusses with Host Jenni Doering the potential impacts to weather forecasting, disaster preparedness, agriculture, military operations and more.

The Trump Administration’s on-again, off-again tariffs and cuts to renewable energy programs are bringing instability and uncertainty to the future of US energy. Collin Rees of Oil Change International talks with Host Paloma Beltran about how the trade turmoil and policy whiplash are impacting and sidelining the U.S. renewable energy industry.

Parakeets have astounding vocal abilities and are able to mimic as many as 1700 human words. And their brains may provide insight into how we humans talk. In a recent study, researchers found human-like neural activity during vocalization. Dr. Michael Long led the study and joins Host Paloma Beltran to share how this research may help shed light on communication disorders in humans such as autism.

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