#11: The Health Risks of Gas Stoves and the Future of Cooking with Weldon Kennedy

Well, we made it ten episodes in before hitting on the most emotionally charged of home appliances—the cooktop. Despite gas stoves not being a significant cause of emissions, they are a clever lock-in device used to drive homeowners to want to keep (or even add) gas hookups to their homes. The plan may ultimately backfire as we all become aware of how terrible it is for our (and especially our kids’) health to be combusting gas inside our homes. Fortunately, there’s a quiet, powerful, and clean alternative — induction cooking. Ben chats with Weldon about the joyous exploration of 2-year-olds as they learn how the world works, including the toilet. They take the same curiosity to unpack the health concerns of burning methane gas in our homes and exploring why induction is going to be the ideal way for most of us to cook in the future. They discuss how Weldon’s new company, Channing Street Copper, is solving the biggest barrier to induction adoption—removing all the complex electrical work. By adding energy storage (a big battery) to the stove it can work with a standard power outlet and even continue to work during power outages. Ben and Weldon wrap up discussing the fundamental optimism needed to be a parent and that choosing to work on climate is just doubling down. Weldon Kennedy is a Co-Founder and CMO of Channing Street Copper. He previously founded and scaled the first Kenya-native running shoe company, Enda, after serving as the Managing Director for Change.org Europe. Referenced in the episode: Ezra Klein: Your Kids Are Not Doomed Get connected: Weldon - LinkedIn | Channing Street Copper Ben - ⁠Climate Papa⁠ Feedback? Guest suggestions? Email ⁠[email protected]⁠ Editing help from Stuart at Castos Music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix) Transition Music: NiNe GriNd by Balkan Bump