How the lead industry misled the public for decades - Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner episode artwork

EPISODE · May 18, 2026 · 6 MIN

How the lead industry misled the public for decades - Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Explore the ways that lead exposure can harm the human body, and why this toxic element can be found in so many products.--Lead is a metallic element that’s distributed across Earth’s crust. When it enters the human body, it can disrupt many critical processes that span various systems, producing a diverse set of symptoms. So, just how bad is lead for human health? And if it’s really that dangerous, how did it get into so many products? Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner dig into the lethal history of lead.Lesson by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, directed by Tim Rauch.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-lead-affects-your-body-gerald-markowitz-and-david-rosnerDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-lead-affects-your-body-gerald-markowitz-and-david-rosner/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://timrauchanimation.weebly.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Peng, Tzu-Hsiang, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, and Rayo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the ways that lead exposure can harm the human body, and why this toxic element can be found in so many products.--Lead is a metallic element that’s distributed across Earth’s crust. When it enters the human body, it can disrupt many critical processes that span various systems, producing a diverse set of symptoms. So, just how bad is lead for human health? And if it’s really that dangerous, how did it get into so many products? Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner dig into the lethal history of lead.Lesson by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, directed by Tim Rauch.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-lead-affects-your-body-gerald-markowitz-and-david-rosnerDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-lead-affects-your-body-gerald-markowitz-and-david-rosner/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://timrauchanimation.weebly.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Peng, Tzu-Hsiang, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, and Rayo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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How the lead industry misled the public for decades - Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner

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This episode was published on May 18, 2026.

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Explore the ways that lead exposure can harm the human body, and why this toxic element can be found in so many products.--Lead is a metallic element that’s distributed across Earth’s crust. When it enters the human body, it can disrupt many...

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