Professor William Kovarik, a Professor of Communication at Radford University, discusses the history of tetraethyl lead (TEL) in gasoline from 1923 until 2021. The decision to put lead in gasoline is among one of the worst public health disasters in human history, impacting the cognitive function, mental health, and quality of life of millions of people. The UN estimates that phasing out leaded gasoline has saved the world $2.45 trillion annually. Kovarik's research was invaluable to uncovering what the gas and oil industry knew about TEL's harms and why it was selected as an anti-knock agent.

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In part two of Mike's conversation with UC Berkeley professor Khalid Kadir, the conversation shifts to contemporary issues. Including how technical solutions are used to depoliticize distributional conflicts, how technology hides human labor, and how modern cultures often fail to appreciate risk.

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Professor Khalid Kadir, continuing lecturer at UC Berkeley, discusses his unplanned journey from mechanical and civil engineering into political economy, sparked by the question of why proven wastewater treatment technologies go unused in developing countries. Together with Mike he explores methodological tensions within economics and political economy, the role of privilege and openness in intellectual discovery, and the moral foundations of justice that guide his teaching.

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