This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Update)
As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution.
- SOURCES:
- Angela Duckworth, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Michael Greenstone, economist at the University of Chicago, director of the Energy Policy Institute, co-director of the Climate Impact Lab.
- Stephan Heblich, economist at the University of Toronto.
- Andrea La Nauze, economist at Deakin University.
- Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago.
- Edson Severnini, economist at Boston College.
- RESOURCES:
- "Most Polluted Cities," (American Lung Association, 2026).
- "Air Pollution and Adult Cognition: Evidence from Brain Training," by Andrea La Nauze and Edson Severnini (Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2025).
- "Air Pollution and Student Performance in the U.S.," by Michael Gilraine and Angela Zheng (NBER Working Papers, 2022).
- "Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data," (World Health Organization, 2022).
- "Evolution of the Clean Air Act," by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (2020).
- "The Death of U.K. Coal in Five Charts," by Hannah Ritchie (Our World in Data, 2019).
- "The Colour of Pollution," (The Economist, 2014).
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More description
As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution.
- SOURCES:
- Angela Duckworth, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Michael Greenstone, economist at the University of Chicago, director of the Energy Policy Institute, co-director of the Climate Impact Lab.
- Stephan Heblich, economist at the University of Toronto.
- Andrea La Nauze, economist at Deakin University.
- Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago.
- Edson Severnini, economist at Boston College.
- RESOURCES:
- "Most Polluted Cities," (American Lung Association, 2026).
- "Air Pollution and Adult Cognition: Evidence from Brain Training," by Andrea La Nauze and Edson Severnini (Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2025).
- "Air Pollution and Student Performance in the U.S.," by Michael Gilraine and Angela Zheng (NBER Working Papers, 2022).
- "Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data," (World Health Organization, 2022).
- "Evolution of the Clean Air Act," by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (2020).
- "The Death of U.K. Coal in Five Charts," by Hannah Ritchie (Our World in Data, 2019).
- "The Colour of Pollution," (The Economist, 2014).
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2026-06-10
47 min
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