August 3, 2025 • 22 mins
Flash floods swamp Texas, Canadian wildfires choke the Midwest, Trump’s swollen ankles launch “Ankle-Gate,” and the UN warns 295 million people face acute food shortages. Titi and Zakiya unpack the science behind each headline — plus real-life tips to stay safe and informed.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Take off your safety goggles, put down your lab coats,
throw caution to the wind, because it's just me and
TT for this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Are y'all ready for that?
Speaker 3 (00:07):
I don't know if y'all are ready for that. We
did this one time before and it seemed like y'all
wasn't ready, But we're jumping right back into it, so
I hope you are prepared. Hold on to your seats.
We're talking about the science behind the latest news and
what we're seeing on our feed. So from torrential downpours
to raging fires, suspicious bruising and swelling, and why food
(00:29):
is both political and scientific. We're covering it all.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, buckle up because today's Lab is a triple maybe
quadruple feature.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Got a lot of stuff talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm TT and I'm Zukiah and this is Dope Labs.
Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore
science with pop culture and a healthy dose of friendship.
All Right, this week is a which is always fun
(01:01):
to meet t T because I love to hear you
explain things and we get a little bit more time
that just you know, laid back and have a little fun. Yeah,
it's a lot more casual, you know than our typical
labs setups. But we go through a lot and it's
a lot of topics that we are really interested in,
but just you know, either it's not enough to fill
a whole episode or we want to talk about it
(01:22):
like right now.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, very impatient, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
And also I don't know if it's just me, but
I feel like the news cycle is going so fast,
like every day, something else, something else, something else, and
so it's like, how do you pick what you're gonna
talk about if we're going to do a full episode.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
But that's why we have these grab bags, because we
can put a little bit of everything in there.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
You always have like then appetizer sampler, you know, you
want to try all the different things.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yes, I'm like a few a mood boosh, Yes, a
mood boosh from the.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Shift here at the end of July. So, like the
twenty eighth through the thirtieth, we've seen Detroit grappling with
flash floods that have led to washed out roads, delayed flights,
and really left thousands of people without power. It's clear
that severe weather isn't just local to Detroit, though, it's
a national concern. In fact, those recent events in Detroit
(02:18):
echo an even more devastating situation that we saw unfolding
over the fourth of July weekend when a storm dumped
a ton of rain on Caerra County in Texas. There
was over like sixteen inches, so that's more than a
foot over sixteen inches of rain in two hours, so
a flash flood. There was loss of property and really sadly,
(02:40):
the loss of lives. I think one of the big
stories I saw was about campers and staff, so kids
and staff members at this camp, and I think they
claimed like twenty seven people's lives, and then for the
entire region, so I think that area is called like
Hill Country. The official death toll rose to one hundred
and thirty eight people. It's really off, it is. And
(03:02):
when I think of Texas, I don't typically think about floods,
but I've been thinking about that more and more ever
since I watched this short from Toppy Story. So we
know the filmmakers who run Toppy Story. So Samuel and
I they did a short called Floodplaines from the Texas
Water Federation. We'll have to drop the link in the
(03:22):
show notes because it's so good. It talks about this
event that happened many years ago. And I think floods
are scary, but flash floods are even scarier.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Because one thing about flash floods is that they happen
so fast in like a localized area, so there's almost
no time to react. At first, everything's completely dry and
it might be raining, but then next thing you know,
the water is up to your knees just a few
minutes later. So it's really really hard to have a
plan and to act, and it can take only a
(03:53):
few minutes to hours, And it's really like in the
name flash flood.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, like always you have this sideline commentators. I
saw a lot of people on the internet like I
would have done this, and I would have done that. Baby,
you don't know what you would do. You don't know,
you know, you don't know. So there's been a lot
of controversy about the emergency notification system in Kerr County,
and family said that the warnings came way too late,
so they didn't have time to react. And now we
know from some recent hearings that the county's own emergency
(04:23):
management director admitted that he was home, sick and asleep
while the flash flood waters were rising, so by the
time he got the call and then woke up, the
worst of it had already happened. Now, I think that's
a tragedy, and it's also got people asking some really
tough questions about accountability and backup plans and if we're honest,
(04:45):
this thing isn't just a Texas problem. Flash floods and
gaps and emergency responses have hit communities all over the country,
and it's a reminder that disasters are not waiting for
you to be ready.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I mean right where I live in the DMV area,
we just had flooding here in mid July, and different
areas were underwater.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
It was very, very scary, and it happened very quickly,
and so it feels like it's more frequent. And that's
not just my fields, because the National Weather Service backs
this up too, and they say they've issued more than
three thousand flash flood warnings so far this year, and
so that's the highest number on records since they've been tracking,
and they started tracking back in nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
F rand wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And so it's high in twenty twenty five, but it
was also high in twenty twenty four. Too, and so
this is all part of a bigger trend.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yes, and the trend it's shifting with the client our
climate change issue. So part of climate change is that
it's warmer. So with the warmer climate, you have warmer air,
and with every extra degree celsius, the air holds seven
percent more water. What makes this soul mind bending for
(05:53):
me is that we're talking about climate change and that's
what's driving like that heat engine. Not only is it
causing flooding in places like Texas, but it's also drying
up other places that don't get rained. So Texas is underwater,
but California is getting baked.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And you know, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
What happens when it's a drought, right you stretching that
WaterCycle at both ends. It's bucket loads of water on
one side, bone dry in other places. I'm like, how
do you make sense of that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Canada is in its fourth worst fire season one record.
They've had thirteen point eight million acres scorched so far,
and the smoke keeps drifting south. We have the same
thing I remember I was in when was that That
was probably twenty twenty three, where the smoke from Canada
made its way down here and everything was orange.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Do you remember those pictures from like New York?
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I do remember the DC. Oh my gosh, it was
wild and on the heels of those Canadian fires. Minneapolis
then clocked in as the fourth most polluted major city
on Earth, and then Michigan and wiscon and also lit
up as unhealthy on the air Quality Index maps, and
even New York. The State of New York issued advisories
(07:06):
as a result. They're right up there border in Canada.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
So even though fires are happening in another country, the
wind pushes that smoke straight into the US's lungs.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And we are feeling it.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
And that's because borders are social constructs. But I'm gonna
say I'm gonna step off my soapbox because we're talking
about that in another episode.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I think it's important to let people know what they
should be doing. If you think you're in a flood zone,
sign up for the NAA text alerts. You know, make
sure you have little I like these things. Ntt you
got me one digelt pill cases? Right? If you have
Mason that you take stock up a backup one, because
when it floods, you also don't have power. You can't
(07:47):
find things, have stuff that you need readily available, especially
as we move into hurricane season. Just be ready with
these kind of things.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, having a go back, I mean, that's the key
to that was something you put me on too. When
the pandemic can have a go bag if you live
in a flood area, I think is really really wise,
having you know, some cash if you need it, having
a portable charger for your phone that's already charged up,
and other necessities that if something terrible were to happen,
(08:15):
that you would be able to just reach for that
bag and have some resources.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
And I think similarly, if you are in smoke zones,
particularly our border states, downloading apps like air now or
iq air before outdoor plans like so knowing even just
knowing the smoke exposure or the air quality so you
can wear a mask or avoid being outside right for
your own health.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And also I think you know, we got into the
habit of wearing mask back at twenty twenty twenty twenty one,
and now we're kind of laying off the mask. But
I think that when it comes to air quality, break
out that mask because it will be very very good
in the long run. Also, having an air purifier, or
you can do a DIY box fan afire and someone
(09:01):
who has asthma and struggles when the air quality is bad,
having an air per of fire really just saves me.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I like the ones that have an app where you
can monitor, and like, even when you're cooking, you can
see right quality changes. And we should know this because
we have a friend who did some work on this
in grad school or maybe in his post doc. But
I'm like, cooking is bad for you. Well, I don't
want to say bad for you.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
My cooking is bad for you. Godspeed to everyone in
my household. There was a picture that showed up on
(09:51):
my timeline and I was like, I don't know whose
legs those are, but that is not correct. And it
turns out that it was actually Trump's feet and they
were very puffy and swollen. And I was like, I
don't know what's going on with him. But it turns
out he was diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Yes, let me tell you something that speaks to all
of my fears. I will get on that now. I'll
save that for later.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
But I was leaning in. I was like, let me
hear you know how I.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Feel about compression socks and all that stuff. First of all,
the human body is just miraculous. Thinking about like valves
that push blood, like our circulatory system, our vasculatory, Like,
that's a closed system, which is why although I give
blood to the Red Cross, I always feel very nervous.
I'm like, that's a closed system. Don't be putting stuff
(10:45):
in there. Don't puncture these veins. Right, we have valves
that push blood to different places, and they're supposed to
snap shut and not let blood pool in our lower extremities.
But over time those doors don't make a firm they
start becoming loose, like a saloon door to start swinging
back and forth, and then that gravity is going to
(11:06):
do his thing, you know, and so you get blood pooling,
and that's what leads to that type of swelling in
the legs and ankles like we saw.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So is this an inevitable thing for folks or is
it like lifestyle?
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Well, I think some of it is a little bit
of both. Part of it is aging, but that has
to do with how we age, you know, So if
you're walking more, if you're having more water, if you're
wearing compression socks, like so even when you travel. You
know you've been on long trip with me. You know
I'm putting those compression socks on the same and I
think there are different more I would say, more invasive
(11:40):
or more complex treatments, but this is something that's happening often.
This is no different than what your cardiologists would give
your grandma, like the information they would give your grandma
or appearance, you know, just about aging. So I think
it is important. And so some of y'all might be thinking,
you know, why is this news? Why do we care
that his legs are well? Transparency? You know, we act
(12:03):
candidates for their tax returns, so vascular ultrasounds should not
be off limits. But we saw that physical. Now the
physical was off limits.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yeah, he tells us that he like lives off McDonald's.
I'm just like, listen, I'm partial to a mc chicken, yes,
and I can't live and a coke coke no ice large,
thank you. But the ultrasounds aren't off limits, just like
we know, you know, when any president or former president,
(12:34):
when they get sick and we know what's going on
with their health. A lot of us sit at desks
for our work, and this should be a lesson to us. All,
get up, stand up, stand up for your rights and
get that bod bump so that you know that blood
doesn't start pulling and exercising those veins.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And so if you're listening to this, stand up right now,
walk the rest of this episode, okay, because also this
is something because T T and I, you know, we
work sitting down. We are at our unless we're out,
you know, for a special event or something. And that's
been our recent I think just last week we committed.
We said we were going to do two fifteen minute
(13:14):
sessions a day to just break up that seated position.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Hold us accountable.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
If you're listening to this right now, put a comment
on Instagram and say, hey, have y'all done?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Y'all fifteen minute walk?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Because one thing about me and my friend, we can
come up with an excuse to not.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I'm gonna go ahead and be really transparent. Now I'm
not the president, so they don't need full transparency for me.
But just tonight I told T t U huh, I said, hey, tomorrow,
I don't know about our walk because I'm getting my
hair done.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I know that's not right.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I know because Cecily, doctor Schulinferd told us what to
do to keep that hair intact. I have no reason,
but the.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thing is, y'all.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
When she said that to me, you know what, my
response was good because I just washed my hair today.
Birds of a feather Yup. We're gonna get it together.
No check in on us, hold us account.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yes, yes, And I think while our media has been
looking at ankles and looking at bruises on hands, the
rest of the world has their eyes on something else.
The United Nations twenty twenty five Global Report on Food
Crises landed with a thud. It said two hundred and
ninety five million people are at crisis hunger levels. And
(14:28):
I know that there are a lot of people who
make up that number that are in Gaza right now,
experiencing absolutely horrible circumstances. And my heart just breaks every
time I see any updates on the news. It's something
we really need to draw attention to and need to
be talking about more absolutely. The UN report specifically highlights Gaza,
(14:54):
South Sudan, Haiti and Molly Right. Yes, we have extreme
weather events like droughts and floods, but conflict and economic shocks,
those are the primary factors. Those three things for the
rising hoss for the rising hunger levels, Oh my god.
And this is the sixth consecutive year of increasing food insecurity.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
We're gonna put some links in the show notes if
you're looking for something that you can do to help
with this hunger crisis.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Absolutely, we have a global lens. And then I think
here in the US, what we're also seeing is legislation
that's being proposed to cut our Supplemental Nutrition Access Program
or SNAP by roughly thirty dollars a month per in
roly So, groceries are only going up. And now we're saying, Okay,
(15:45):
if you need assistance, we're gonna give you less assistance.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Think that thirty dollars, that's four gallons of milk or
a week's worth of school lunches just disappearing from a
family's budget.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And I think, you know, I don't know about you,
but I am very fortunate to be in the position
that I have not been hungry in a very long time, Okay,
And I think it's easy to forget about what happens.
Let's say you go a day you haven't eaten and
you're like, oh, I feel lightheaded. That's because your blood
sugar is tanking, right, your adrenaline is spiking. But when
(16:18):
you get past that, we start talking about three days
in your body is already pulling from muscle, okay, pulling
from muscle for protein for its regular function. Then we
start talking about weeks, your gut lining things, and that
leads you to infection, stuff like that, immune cell production,
things that keep you healthy, fighting against other things. And
(16:40):
when you have severe hunger like that, we know that
doesn't happen in isolation. You are properly exposed to the elements.
You're exposed to more things that can cause infection, and
now your system is weaker. And so when we move
into a month, we're talking about all the way down
to your bones, bone marrow. The fat in your bone
marrow begins to drain, your red blood cells are not
being produced, or those factory stall, and there are MRI
(17:02):
studies that show you start to lose brain volume. Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
The other thing is like you can't just say, Okay,
somebody's been starving or they're hungry and been so hungry
for a really long time. Now we're just gonna give
them all the calories, because if you give feed them
too fast, that can be fatal.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And kids feel it the fastest. It leads to stunted growth,
delayed cognition, and in the long term you find that
kids that struggle with food security make less money. Pregnant
folks higher calorie demand plus nutrient deficits means that you
will have smaller, less healthy babies. Hunger is an inter
(17:38):
generational science experiment no one consented to. I mean, it
just puts everyone in a tough predicament and it has
ripple effects. It's not, like you said, happening in a vacuum,
and is not just happening to that one generation because
there's epigenetics. We know that from old famine studies that
we're done. And then you have to think that these
(17:59):
people not just sitting in a room being hungry. They
a lot of them still have to work and go
to school and juggle a lot of other things. So
there's a lot of stress that's also wrapped up in that.
It just all of us is just crippling. It feels
(18:28):
really terrible, particularly at a time where we think about
organizations like USAID being slashed, you know, or completely done
away with, because what we know is that conflict blocks
the regular transit paths for food and grain you know,
and there were USAID programs that were specifically meant to
(18:49):
feed hungry populations or people who are living in food
crisis areas, and with the dismantling of USAID, all of
those programs were immediately stopped, and so millions of children,
millions and millions of children, millions of people are dying
because of it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I think the key thing, you know, I feel like
this can feel really overwhelming, and it can be like, oh,
I don't want to look at that, but we have to.
There's no way you can solve a thing until you
look at it or even begin to address it. I
think something that's been really interesting and nice for me
to know is that just donating a few dollars. Right.
I may say like, okay, I have five dollars, and
if you have five dollars, what are you going to
(19:30):
do with that at the grocery store. But at your
local food bank, because of different deals and wholesale buying,
five dollars can be stretched to twenty or twenty five
dollars at your food bank. Monetary donations are the way
to go.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
There is some uplifting or some positive science on the way.
There has been a lot of genetic engineering to create
food that can survive different conditions. Lately, there's been a
push to kind of tweak the basic machine of plants,
so editing the enzymes that are responsible for photosynthesis in wheat, maize,
(20:05):
and soybeans so they can keep growing even as we
continue to see you heat waves becoming more and more common.
I know we don't have time to talk about it today,
but at some point, please y'all google course with so
we're not just thinking about genetic engineering being meat grown
in a petri dish. Sometimes food innovation is just a
hearty or resistant plant, something that can resist what climate
(20:29):
change is throwing at it.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And guess what. All of them are chemicals. The stuff
you get out the ground, everything is a chemical. So
chill chill, chill, chill. So sometimes it takes a whole
community to solve a problem, and we need to think
of ourselves. We say this all the time on this show.
We need to think of ourselves as a global community
and do our part to make sure that everybody has
(20:50):
a life that they can love and that they are
thriving here on this planet Earth. It is so so
important we are all here together. We all share this
Earth and I want it to be good for me,
good for you, good for everybody.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
You can find us on X and Instagram at Dope
Labs podcast.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Tt is on X and Instagram at d R Underscore
T s.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
H O, and you can find Zakiya at Z said So.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Dope Labs is a production of Lamanada Media.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Our senior supervising producer is Kristin Lapour and our associate
producer is Issara Sives.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Dope Labs is sound design, edited and mixed by James Farber.
Lamanada Media is Vice President of Partnerships and Production is
Jackie Danziger. Executive producer from iHeart Podcast is Katrina Norville.
Marketing lead is Alison Canter.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Original music composed and produced by Taka Yatsuzawa and Alex
sudi Ura, with additional music by Elijah Harvey. Dope Lab
is executive produced by US T T Show Dia and
Kia Wattley.
Take off your safety goggles, put down your lab coats,
throw caution to the wind, because it's just me and
TT for this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Are y'all ready for that?
Speaker 3 (00:07):
I don't know if y'all are ready for that. We
did this one time before and it seemed like y'all
wasn't ready, But we're jumping right back into it, so
I hope you are prepared. Hold on to your seats.
We're talking about the science behind the latest news and
what we're seeing on our feed. So from torrential downpours
to raging fires, suspicious bruising and swelling, and why food
(00:29):
is both political and scientific. We're covering it all.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, buckle up because today's Lab is a triple maybe
quadruple feature.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Got a lot of stuff talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm TT and I'm Zukiah and this is Dope Labs.
Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore
science with pop culture and a healthy dose of friendship.
All Right, this week is a which is always fun
(01:01):
to meet t T because I love to hear you
explain things and we get a little bit more time
that just you know, laid back and have a little fun. Yeah,
it's a lot more casual, you know than our typical
labs setups. But we go through a lot and it's
a lot of topics that we are really interested in,
but just you know, either it's not enough to fill
a whole episode or we want to talk about it
(01:22):
like right now.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, very impatient, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
And also I don't know if it's just me, but
I feel like the news cycle is going so fast,
like every day, something else, something else, something else, and
so it's like, how do you pick what you're gonna
talk about if we're going to do a full episode.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
But that's why we have these grab bags, because we
can put a little bit of everything in there.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
You always have like then appetizer sampler, you know, you
want to try all the different things.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Yes, I'm like a few a mood boosh, Yes, a
mood boosh from the.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Shift here at the end of July. So, like the
twenty eighth through the thirtieth, we've seen Detroit grappling with
flash floods that have led to washed out roads, delayed flights,
and really left thousands of people without power. It's clear
that severe weather isn't just local to Detroit, though, it's
a national concern. In fact, those recent events in Detroit
(02:18):
echo an even more devastating situation that we saw unfolding
over the fourth of July weekend when a storm dumped
a ton of rain on Caerra County in Texas. There
was over like sixteen inches, so that's more than a
foot over sixteen inches of rain in two hours, so
a flash flood. There was loss of property and really sadly,
(02:40):
the loss of lives. I think one of the big
stories I saw was about campers and staff, so kids
and staff members at this camp, and I think they
claimed like twenty seven people's lives, and then for the
entire region, so I think that area is called like
Hill Country. The official death toll rose to one hundred
and thirty eight people. It's really off, it is. And
(03:02):
when I think of Texas, I don't typically think about floods,
but I've been thinking about that more and more ever
since I watched this short from Toppy Story. So we
know the filmmakers who run Toppy Story. So Samuel and
I they did a short called Floodplaines from the Texas
Water Federation. We'll have to drop the link in the
(03:22):
show notes because it's so good. It talks about this
event that happened many years ago. And I think floods
are scary, but flash floods are even scarier.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Because one thing about flash floods is that they happen
so fast in like a localized area, so there's almost
no time to react. At first, everything's completely dry and
it might be raining, but then next thing you know,
the water is up to your knees just a few
minutes later. So it's really really hard to have a
plan and to act, and it can take only a
(03:53):
few minutes to hours, And it's really like in the
name flash flood.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, like always you have this sideline commentators. I
saw a lot of people on the internet like I
would have done this, and I would have done that. Baby,
you don't know what you would do. You don't know,
you know, you don't know. So there's been a lot
of controversy about the emergency notification system in Kerr County,
and family said that the warnings came way too late,
so they didn't have time to react. And now we
know from some recent hearings that the county's own emergency
(04:23):
management director admitted that he was home, sick and asleep
while the flash flood waters were rising, so by the
time he got the call and then woke up, the
worst of it had already happened. Now, I think that's
a tragedy, and it's also got people asking some really
tough questions about accountability and backup plans and if we're honest,
(04:45):
this thing isn't just a Texas problem. Flash floods and
gaps and emergency responses have hit communities all over the country,
and it's a reminder that disasters are not waiting for
you to be ready.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I mean right where I live in the DMV area,
we just had flooding here in mid July, and different
areas were underwater.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
It was very, very scary, and it happened very quickly,
and so it feels like it's more frequent. And that's
not just my fields, because the National Weather Service backs
this up too, and they say they've issued more than
three thousand flash flood warnings so far this year, and
so that's the highest number on records since they've been tracking,
and they started tracking back in nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
F rand wow.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
And so it's high in twenty twenty five, but it
was also high in twenty twenty four. Too, and so
this is all part of a bigger trend.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yes, and the trend it's shifting with the client our
climate change issue. So part of climate change is that
it's warmer. So with the warmer climate, you have warmer air,
and with every extra degree celsius, the air holds seven
percent more water. What makes this soul mind bending for
(05:53):
me is that we're talking about climate change and that's
what's driving like that heat engine. Not only is it
causing flooding in places like Texas, but it's also drying
up other places that don't get rained. So Texas is underwater,
but California is getting baked.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And you know, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
What happens when it's a drought, right you stretching that
WaterCycle at both ends. It's bucket loads of water on
one side, bone dry in other places. I'm like, how
do you make sense of that?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Canada is in its fourth worst fire season one record.
They've had thirteen point eight million acres scorched so far,
and the smoke keeps drifting south. We have the same
thing I remember I was in when was that That
was probably twenty twenty three, where the smoke from Canada
made its way down here and everything was orange.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Do you remember those pictures from like New York?
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I do remember the DC. Oh my gosh, it was
wild and on the heels of those Canadian fires. Minneapolis
then clocked in as the fourth most polluted major city
on Earth, and then Michigan and wiscon and also lit
up as unhealthy on the air Quality Index maps, and
even New York. The State of New York issued advisories
(07:06):
as a result. They're right up there border in Canada.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
So even though fires are happening in another country, the
wind pushes that smoke straight into the US's lungs.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And we are feeling it.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
And that's because borders are social constructs. But I'm gonna
say I'm gonna step off my soapbox because we're talking
about that in another episode.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I think it's important to let people know what they
should be doing. If you think you're in a flood zone,
sign up for the NAA text alerts. You know, make
sure you have little I like these things. Ntt you
got me one digelt pill cases? Right? If you have
Mason that you take stock up a backup one, because
when it floods, you also don't have power. You can't
(07:47):
find things, have stuff that you need readily available, especially
as we move into hurricane season. Just be ready with
these kind of things.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, having a go back, I mean, that's the key
to that was something you put me on too. When
the pandemic can have a go bag if you live
in a flood area, I think is really really wise,
having you know, some cash if you need it, having
a portable charger for your phone that's already charged up,
and other necessities that if something terrible were to happen,
(08:15):
that you would be able to just reach for that
bag and have some resources.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
And I think similarly, if you are in smoke zones,
particularly our border states, downloading apps like air now or
iq air before outdoor plans like so knowing even just
knowing the smoke exposure or the air quality so you
can wear a mask or avoid being outside right for
your own health.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And also I think you know, we got into the
habit of wearing mask back at twenty twenty twenty twenty one,
and now we're kind of laying off the mask. But
I think that when it comes to air quality, break
out that mask because it will be very very good
in the long run. Also, having an air purifier, or
you can do a DIY box fan afire and someone
(09:01):
who has asthma and struggles when the air quality is bad,
having an air per of fire really just saves me.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I like the ones that have an app where you
can monitor, and like, even when you're cooking, you can
see right quality changes. And we should know this because
we have a friend who did some work on this
in grad school or maybe in his post doc. But
I'm like, cooking is bad for you. Well, I don't
want to say bad for you.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
My cooking is bad for you. Godspeed to everyone in
my household. There was a picture that showed up on
(09:51):
my timeline and I was like, I don't know whose
legs those are, but that is not correct. And it
turns out that it was actually Trump's feet and they
were very puffy and swollen. And I was like, I
don't know what's going on with him. But it turns
out he was diagnosed with chronic venus insufficiency.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Yes, let me tell you something that speaks to all
of my fears. I will get on that now. I'll
save that for later.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
But I was leaning in. I was like, let me
hear you know how I.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Feel about compression socks and all that stuff. First of all,
the human body is just miraculous. Thinking about like valves
that push blood, like our circulatory system, our vasculatory, Like,
that's a closed system, which is why although I give
blood to the Red Cross, I always feel very nervous.
I'm like, that's a closed system. Don't be putting stuff
(10:45):
in there. Don't puncture these veins. Right, we have valves
that push blood to different places, and they're supposed to
snap shut and not let blood pool in our lower extremities.
But over time those doors don't make a firm they
start becoming loose, like a saloon door to start swinging
back and forth, and then that gravity is going to
(11:06):
do his thing, you know, and so you get blood pooling,
and that's what leads to that type of swelling in
the legs and ankles like we saw.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
So is this an inevitable thing for folks or is
it like lifestyle?
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Well, I think some of it is a little bit
of both. Part of it is aging, but that has
to do with how we age, you know, So if
you're walking more, if you're having more water, if you're
wearing compression socks, like so even when you travel. You
know you've been on long trip with me. You know
I'm putting those compression socks on the same and I
think there are different more I would say, more invasive
(11:40):
or more complex treatments, but this is something that's happening often.
This is no different than what your cardiologists would give
your grandma, like the information they would give your grandma
or appearance, you know, just about aging. So I think
it is important. And so some of y'all might be thinking,
you know, why is this news? Why do we care
that his legs are well? Transparency? You know, we act
(12:03):
candidates for their tax returns, so vascular ultrasounds should not
be off limits. But we saw that physical. Now the
physical was off limits.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Yeah, he tells us that he like lives off McDonald's.
I'm just like, listen, I'm partial to a mc chicken, yes,
and I can't live and a coke coke no ice large,
thank you. But the ultrasounds aren't off limits, just like
we know, you know, when any president or former president,
(12:34):
when they get sick and we know what's going on
with their health. A lot of us sit at desks
for our work, and this should be a lesson to us. All,
get up, stand up, stand up for your rights and
get that bod bump so that you know that blood
doesn't start pulling and exercising those veins.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And so if you're listening to this, stand up right now,
walk the rest of this episode, okay, because also this
is something because T T and I, you know, we
work sitting down. We are at our unless we're out,
you know, for a special event or something. And that's
been our recent I think just last week we committed.
We said we were going to do two fifteen minute
(13:14):
sessions a day to just break up that seated position.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Hold us accountable.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
If you're listening to this right now, put a comment
on Instagram and say, hey, have y'all done?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Y'all fifteen minute walk?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Because one thing about me and my friend, we can
come up with an excuse to not.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I'm gonna go ahead and be really transparent. Now I'm
not the president, so they don't need full transparency for me.
But just tonight I told T t U huh, I said, hey, tomorrow,
I don't know about our walk because I'm getting my
hair done.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I know that's not right.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I know because Cecily, doctor Schulinferd told us what to
do to keep that hair intact. I have no reason,
but the.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thing is, y'all.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
When she said that to me, you know what, my
response was good because I just washed my hair today.
Birds of a feather Yup. We're gonna get it together.
No check in on us, hold us account.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yes, yes, And I think while our media has been
looking at ankles and looking at bruises on hands, the
rest of the world has their eyes on something else.
The United Nations twenty twenty five Global Report on Food
Crises landed with a thud. It said two hundred and
ninety five million people are at crisis hunger levels. And
(14:28):
I know that there are a lot of people who
make up that number that are in Gaza right now,
experiencing absolutely horrible circumstances. And my heart just breaks every
time I see any updates on the news. It's something
we really need to draw attention to and need to
be talking about more absolutely. The UN report specifically highlights Gaza,
(14:54):
South Sudan, Haiti and Molly Right. Yes, we have extreme
weather events like droughts and floods, but conflict and economic shocks,
those are the primary factors. Those three things for the
rising hoss for the rising hunger levels, Oh my god.
And this is the sixth consecutive year of increasing food insecurity.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
We're gonna put some links in the show notes if
you're looking for something that you can do to help
with this hunger crisis.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Absolutely, we have a global lens. And then I think
here in the US, what we're also seeing is legislation
that's being proposed to cut our Supplemental Nutrition Access Program
or SNAP by roughly thirty dollars a month per in
roly So, groceries are only going up. And now we're saying, Okay,
(15:45):
if you need assistance, we're gonna give you less assistance.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Think that thirty dollars, that's four gallons of milk or
a week's worth of school lunches just disappearing from a
family's budget.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And I think, you know, I don't know about you,
but I am very fortunate to be in the position
that I have not been hungry in a very long time, Okay,
And I think it's easy to forget about what happens.
Let's say you go a day you haven't eaten and
you're like, oh, I feel lightheaded. That's because your blood
sugar is tanking, right, your adrenaline is spiking. But when
(16:18):
you get past that, we start talking about three days
in your body is already pulling from muscle, okay, pulling
from muscle for protein for its regular function. Then we
start talking about weeks, your gut lining things, and that
leads you to infection, stuff like that, immune cell production,
things that keep you healthy, fighting against other things. And
(16:40):
when you have severe hunger like that, we know that
doesn't happen in isolation. You are properly exposed to the elements.
You're exposed to more things that can cause infection, and
now your system is weaker. And so when we move
into a month, we're talking about all the way down
to your bones, bone marrow. The fat in your bone
marrow begins to drain, your red blood cells are not
being produced, or those factory stall, and there are MRI
(17:02):
studies that show you start to lose brain volume. Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
The other thing is like you can't just say, Okay,
somebody's been starving or they're hungry and been so hungry
for a really long time. Now we're just gonna give
them all the calories, because if you give feed them
too fast, that can be fatal.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And kids feel it the fastest. It leads to stunted growth,
delayed cognition, and in the long term you find that
kids that struggle with food security make less money. Pregnant
folks higher calorie demand plus nutrient deficits means that you
will have smaller, less healthy babies. Hunger is an inter
(17:38):
generational science experiment no one consented to. I mean, it
just puts everyone in a tough predicament and it has
ripple effects. It's not, like you said, happening in a vacuum,
and is not just happening to that one generation because
there's epigenetics. We know that from old famine studies that
we're done. And then you have to think that these
(17:59):
people not just sitting in a room being hungry. They
a lot of them still have to work and go
to school and juggle a lot of other things. So
there's a lot of stress that's also wrapped up in that.
It just all of us is just crippling. It feels
(18:28):
really terrible, particularly at a time where we think about
organizations like USAID being slashed, you know, or completely done
away with, because what we know is that conflict blocks
the regular transit paths for food and grain you know,
and there were USAID programs that were specifically meant to
(18:49):
feed hungry populations or people who are living in food
crisis areas, and with the dismantling of USAID, all of
those programs were immediately stopped, and so millions of children,
millions and millions of children, millions of people are dying
because of it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I think the key thing, you know, I feel like
this can feel really overwhelming, and it can be like, oh,
I don't want to look at that, but we have to.
There's no way you can solve a thing until you
look at it or even begin to address it. I
think something that's been really interesting and nice for me
to know is that just donating a few dollars. Right.
I may say like, okay, I have five dollars, and
if you have five dollars, what are you going to
(19:30):
do with that at the grocery store. But at your
local food bank, because of different deals and wholesale buying,
five dollars can be stretched to twenty or twenty five
dollars at your food bank. Monetary donations are the way
to go.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
There is some uplifting or some positive science on the way.
There has been a lot of genetic engineering to create
food that can survive different conditions. Lately, there's been a
push to kind of tweak the basic machine of plants,
so editing the enzymes that are responsible for photosynthesis in wheat, maize,
(20:05):
and soybeans so they can keep growing even as we
continue to see you heat waves becoming more and more common.
I know we don't have time to talk about it today,
but at some point, please y'all google course with so
we're not just thinking about genetic engineering being meat grown
in a petri dish. Sometimes food innovation is just a
hearty or resistant plant, something that can resist what climate
(20:29):
change is throwing at it.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
And guess what. All of them are chemicals. The stuff
you get out the ground, everything is a chemical. So
chill chill, chill, chill. So sometimes it takes a whole
community to solve a problem, and we need to think
of ourselves. We say this all the time on this show.
We need to think of ourselves as a global community
and do our part to make sure that everybody has
(20:50):
a life that they can love and that they are
thriving here on this planet Earth. It is so so
important we are all here together. We all share this
Earth and I want it to be good for me,
good for you, good for everybody.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Amen.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
You can find us on X and Instagram at Dope
Labs podcast.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Tt is on X and Instagram at d R Underscore
T s.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
H O, and you can find Zakiya at Z said So.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Dope Labs is a production of Lamanada Media.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Our senior supervising producer is Kristin Lapour and our associate
producer is Issara Sives.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Dope Labs is sound design, edited and mixed by James Farber.
Lamanada Media is Vice President of Partnerships and Production is
Jackie Danziger. Executive producer from iHeart Podcast is Katrina Norville.
Marketing lead is Alison Canter.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Original music composed and produced by Taka Yatsuzawa and Alex
sudi Ura, with additional music by Elijah Harvey. Dope Lab
is executive produced by US T T Show Dia and
Kia Wattley.
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