Unraveling decades of environmental progress, the Trump administration is systematically dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s dismantling critical statutes that have protected public health and the environment for years.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by his old boss and mentor, former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly, who served in various roles under four U.S. presidents — Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. As EPA chief from 1989 to 1993, Reilly championed landmark policies like the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. He also played a key role in responding to major environmental disasters, including the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.

The Trump administration claims to be defunding the EPA for “economic reasons.” Bill and Ken, however, highlight how environmental regulations have historically driven economic growth rather than hindered it as the agency’s critics claim.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Three Former E.P.A. Leaders: You’ll Miss It When It’s Gone

Administrator William K. Reilly, 1989-1993 (EPA Archives)

The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times, but No One Cared Until 1969 (Smithsonian Magazine)

Lee Zeldin "Power the Great American Comeback"

Clean Air Act Revisions (C-SPAN)

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (C-SPAN)

Alaskan Oil Spill Update (C-SPAN)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Ken is continuing his cook's tour of the who’s-who at public interest organizations. He’s joined by DJ Gerken, the president and executive director of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

SELC is the largest environmental nonprofit organization in the southeastern United States. It fights daily to protect our right to clean water, clean air, and a liveable climate. Ken and DJ discuss the latest coming from Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency that has unleashed a wave of controversial moves, from deep budget and staff cuts, office closures and unprecedented rollbacks of critical environmental and public health protections. They debate the current playing field, and how both EWG and SELC are rising to protect American health.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Southern Environmental Law Center

E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices

Lee Zeldin "Power the Great American Comeback"

EPA shuts down 10 environmental justice offices, axes EJ division

EPA eliminating environmental justice jobs

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Ken’s having another episode, one that quite a lot of people are having lately, all about the federal job layoffs. This is a little bit tricky, as Ken and EWG have at times been critical of the very agencies that are in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

To help Ken unpack this, he’s joined by his friend and environmental hero, Peter Galvin. Peter is one of the founders and the director of programs for the Center for Biological Diversity. They talk about policy, strategies for the next four years, and how their organizations will rise to the occasion to ensure all Americans have a cleaner, safer, non-toxic future.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

The Center for Biological Diversity

Frequent Questions and Answers: Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS (EPA)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to Unleash American Greatness as Head of EPA

ICYMI: Administrator Zeldin on Record-Breaking Response: How EPA Tackled California’s Wildfire Crisis

PFAS in sludge spread on farmland poses health risks, EPA report says

OPM-OMB Memo Guidance on Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans Requested by Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative 2-26-2025

She Lobbied for a Carcinogen. Now She’s at the E.P.A., Approving New Chemicals (NYTimes)

PFAS Rule Withdrawn

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

The meat industry has been consolidating rapidly for decades, concentrating its power in a way that creates problems not only for the environment but also for farming communities in the U.S. and around the world.

In today’s episode, Ken is joined by Chloe Sorvino, a journalist at Forbes and author of the new book “Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat.” Chloe unravels a tangled web of bribery, deceit, and international corporate intrigue as she explores the dark side of the modern industrialized meat industry.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Chloe's website

Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat.

EWG Food Scores: Meat

Decoding Meat And Dairy Product Labels

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Ken Cook is having another episode, and this one is all about two R’s: Red Dye 3 and RFK Jr.

Ken is joined by his fellow public interest leader Dr. Peter Lurie, the president and executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI. He has a storied career in public health, including a stint as the Food and Drug Administration’s associate commissioner for public health strategy and analysis during the Obama administration.

Thanks to a petition CSPI filed with the FDA in 2022 FDA petition, Red Dye 3 is now banned from use in food products in the U.S.

In today’s episode, Ken and Dr. Lurie celebrate that victory and discuss how CSPI, EWG, and other public interest groups are rising to meet this challenging political moment for public health.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

www.cspinet.org

EWG Food Scores: Red Dye 3

What is GRAS?

Thank you to our live-stream guests

Day One:

Dr. Rob Davidson, Executive Director of The Committee to Protect Health Care

Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of American Public Health Association

Day Two:

Tom Philpott, Senior Research Analyst at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Executive Director Northe Saunders and Advocacy Director Jen Herricks at SAFE Communities Coalition Action Fund

Max Goldberg, founder of the newsletter Organic Insider

Darya Minovi, Senior Analyst at The Center for Science and Democracy at The Union of Concerned Scientists

Author and entrepreneur, Robyn O’Brien

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Our skin is our largest organ, and applying some personal care products may let harmful chemicals sink into the body. That’s why Ken feels so strongly about the importance of non-toxic beauty alternatives.

In today’s episode, he’s joined by Hillary Peterson, the founder of True Botanicals, a skincare company offering products without problematic ingredients. Hillary is a cancer survivor who was motivated to start her company after listening to Ken speak on NPR about how chemicals in personal care products end up in the umbilical cord blood in pregnant people.

Every True Botanicals product is EWG Verified® and sourced with organic regenerative farm and wild harvest ingredients. Now entering their tenth year, True Botanicals is dedicated to reimagining what responsible, ethical beauty looks like. Ken and Hillary discuss her journey, influences, and what’s next in the world of better beauty.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

True Botanicals Website

Food Forest Network

Skin Deep

EWG’s Tap Water Database

Body Burden: The Pollution in Newborns (EWG)

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup

Chemicals in our food, water, and air are risk factors contributing to the rise of Parkinson’s disease. It’s the fastest-growing brain disease in the world, creating urgency to address not just treatment for Parkinson’s but also its causes.

Today’s guest is Dr. Ray Dorsey, a neurologist who co-authored the book, “Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action.” He explains why Parkinson’s is a man-made disease and how eliminating harmful chemicals in food, water, and air could help get rid of it. EWG is on a mission to ban harmful pesticides like paraquat that have links to Parkinson’s disease. We’re thrilled to have Ray as an ally and leader in the fight. Head on over to BanParaquat.org to join the effort.

For a deeper dive into today’s discussion:

Paraquat Papers

BanParaquat.org

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

Ken Cook Is Having Another Episode every other week.

@kencookspodcast

www.ewg.org

@environmentalworkinggroup