Important, Not Important

There’s no word for “conservation” in many Indigenous languages.Some come close, but mean something more like “taking care of” or “looking after.”And that’s probably because the very idea of conservation, to “prevention the wasteful use of a resource”, would have been, and continue to be, foreign to many of North America’s Indigenous peoples, who lived in an entirely different, co-dependent relationship with nature.That is to say, to have had a relationship at all.A relationship with the very same nature of which we’re inextricably part of, of which we rely on for clean air, food, and water – or it’s game over.And now, if we’re not facing game over, we’re certainly up against the final boss.We live on stolen lands that were tended for thousands of years by Indigenous and Native peoples have been dried out by mostly white settlers in what seems like the blink of an eye.Land now covered in cities, in suburbs, in industrialized agriculture, desperately and even controversially conserved as national and state par

This week: Putin's oil, rejectedThe lives we write offWhat "sustainable" really means, or, nothingLead pipes, stillMicrosoft's new cancer botGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

There’s these metaphors that sum up a lot of what we’re trying to do here, what needs to be done on planet Earth, from climate change to COVID to AI ethics, which is something you definitely need to know and care about before it's too late, there are like 7 Terminator movies and only 1/3 of them are any good.Anyways! Re: today’s conversation, we need to design and implement standardized AI ethics regulations across everything AI touches, so, everything, while also asking questions like: what is “ethical”?And who gets to decide? And why do they get to decide? And how are they incentivized to decide, in today’s society? And who provides those incentives? Who gets to regulate all of this? Who elects the regulators? And how do we make sure companies actually implement all of this?These are among the most important questions of our time, because AI touches everything you do. The phone in your hand, your insurance, your mortgage, your flood risk, your wildfire risk, your electronic health record, your face, your ta

This week: The IPCC report, by the numbersBiden's new COVID planWheat (prices) on the riseMental health apps need to meditate on some randomized control trialsPegasus: Not a horse! This timeGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

Jafar Tabebordbar was in his early 30’s, living and working as an accountant in Shiraz, Iran, when he became a father.It was 1986, nearly a decade after the 1979 revolution, and Jafar’s muscles were already beginning to whither.As his sons grew, and watched, their father Jafar lost his balance, his ability to walk, to drive, and eventually, the reliable use of his hands. There were no answers, and no treatments to be found.Two questions haunted his sons as they grew: What was causing their father’s suffering? And would they get it next?Quinn's guest today, 30 years later, is Dr. Sharif Tabebordbar, Jafar’s oldest son, and the man closest to a cure.Sharif received his bachelors and masters degrees in biotechnology from University of Tehran and a Ph.D. in Developmental and Regenerative Biology from Harvard University.He is the recipient of Distinction in Teaching Award from Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard, the Albert J. Ryan Foundation Award for Outstanding Graduate Students in Biomed

This week: Gas: the forever bridge fuelBoosters, boostedMegadrought self-awarenessMaternal deaths on the riseYour location data, for saleGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

In 2019, Quinn interviewed his good friend Craig Mazin, writer, producer, and creator of the hit HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, to learn what happened there, and what it means for our energy future.This week, Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, directing the Russian military to take Ukraine's bases, cities, people, and strategic assets.Today, they took Chernobyl.We're re-running this invaluable conversation because misinformation is rampant, and it's never been more important to understand the cost of lies.-----------Have feedback or questions? Tweet us, or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.comNew here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com.-----------INI Book Club:Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-clubLinks:Watch Chernobyl on HBOFollow Craig on TwitterScriptnotes podcastFollow us:Subscribe to our newsletter at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter: twi

This week: America will see an average of 12 inches of sea level rise by 20501 million COVID deaths$1 billion for cover cropsAntimicrobial resistance got nextClearview's next steps (to harvest your data)Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpGet fun merch at importantnotimportant.com/storeTake a nap you deserve it

This week: Carbon markets are magic and demand to be taken seriously, MichaelMask mandates are endingFood prices up the riseBiden's cancer moonshotIRS FaceTime cancelledGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpTake a nap you deserve it

This week: Will the EPA's powers be gutted?Don't forget your vaccines for everything elsePFAS can't get regulated soon enoughEverywhere needs more nursesThe database with virtually everyone's most private health info just sold (again)Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpTake a nap you deserve it

It's been 26 months since so many of us took our kids out of schools, downloaded an app called Zoom, and started videoconferencing our work from our kitchens and sweatpants. For many others, especially the marginalized and those working in the service industry, working from home was never an option.It's been 12 months since groundbreaking vaccines began to roll out across the world. You've probably got at least two, maybe three.And yet today, 39% of humans across the globe haven't received a single shot, and just 10% across low-income countries have received a single dose.Over 3 billion humans remain not only susceptible to sickness and death, but also a vector for transmission and mutations that could affect us all.The only way any of us is truly done with this is if we vaccinate the world. So why aren't we doing it?Quinn's guest this week is Dr. Madhukar Pai. Dr. Pai is not only an outspoken advocate for vaccine equity, but also the Canada Research Chair of Epidemiology and Global Health at McGill Universit

This week: Gas stoves can GTFOOmicron means we still need masks at schoolsThe future of "organic" foodThrowing cash at bigger baby brainsPregnancy apps are a data nightmare which is so so greatGet more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpTake a nap you deserve it

This week: How to market climate change to the peopleHere come the masks - are they enough? What's "enough"?Kids EBT food on the waneExpanding the blood donor poolThe IRS wants your selfie (or do they?)Get more:Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp

This week: Moving on from Machin; What "mild" COVID really means; How China's going plant-based; How exercise defeats anxiety; This is what happens when old senators misunderstand new techGet more news, analysis, and Action Steps at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp

In Episode 129, Quinn tries to better understand data privacy, data stewardship, and what it means for Indigenous cultures in the future of biotech, how we design equity into genetic research, and who gets to make those decisions.His guest is Krystal Tsosie, a geneticist, bioethicist, and—first and foremost to her—a person Indigenous to the southwestern United States, specifically the Navajo nation. She is the co-founder and Ethics and Policy Director at the Native BioData Consortium, the first Indigenous-led biological data repository for tribes in the US.“Representation” is just the first step (and so much more than who shows up on screen in the latest Disney movie (though even things there are still embarrassingly bland). Next up is inclusivity: It’s about who’s in the room writing and building the future of technology, it’s about asking who makes the rules, and who benefits from them? But the real goal is equity, and benefit. And biotech in particular is one sector that could get out of hand rea

This week: Biden's executive orders; What Omicron means for you; The future of coffee farmer migration; Telehealth lobbying on the rise; China's queer internet is being erasedFind links and Action Steps from this newsletter and more at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

Yes, we all know that the 1998 Michael Bay flick Armageddon is a masterpiece of cinema, but two years ago we asked ourselves this question: How much does it actually hold up as a blueprint for preventing planetary destruction? Let’s say it doesn’t: What can we do to keep from going the way of the dinosaurs? Nobody was better suited to answer our many questions than Professor K.T. Ramesh. He told us about a future test mission called DART. Armed with a spacecraft the size of a golf cart, it could have potential to save humanity. Two years later, DART has launched, and we thought it was a hell of a time to revisit this Best of the Best episode.In Episode 66, Quinn & Brian discuss: Why, apparently, we shouldn’t just blow up asteroids.Our guest is Professor K.T. Ramesh, who is a professor of mechanical engineering at John Hopkins, founding director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI), and our new hero. You can think of HEMI as a real-life Avengers (no, we’re not just stuck on Endg

This week: McDonald’s isn’t trying; Biden’s test plan had to be better; Plant-based meat math is obvious; We need more biotech data scientists; We need less crime prediction softwareFind links from this newsletter and more at importantnotimportant.com/newsletterGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media

In Episode 128, Quinn unpacks the most delicious olive oil in the world, how it came to be, and what it means to start a food business in the age of climate change.Our guest is Aishwarya Iyer, dreamer, doer, and eternal optimist. Ash is the founder and CEO of Brightland, the new gold standard in pantry essentials. They are proponents and advocates for authenticity and transparency in the food industry, starting with olive oil.There are something like six bajillion bottles of olive oil at your local supermarket, and that’s just the extra virgin stuff. And yet, despite the options (organic, cold-pressed, etc) you’d be hard-pressed (sorry) to find pure, quality oils – ones that aren’t blended, rancid, or worse. Thankfully, you don’t have to cross the Atlantic (and the Mediterranean) in order to find the good stuff. It’s available right here in California.Ash has been hard at work extending olive branches (you’re welcome) to local family farms, getting them to buy into the mission and the message. Brightland

This Week: Is there a green bubble?; Can you get a booster?; Where to find clean water; Why health workers are quitting; Amazon’s privacy nightmareFind links from this newsletter and more at newsletter.importantnotimportant.comGot feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.comFollow us on Twitter at @importantnotimpImportant, Not Important is produced by Crate Media