The Problem of Our Time

Do you know what a heat island is? Probably not but if you do you may understand how dangerous heat can be; but to take it a bit further extreme heat and the injuries and deaths that can occur from impact people of color and people of lower incomes more than others. But why? I sat down with researcher and college professor Dr. Idzriorek who gave me some greater insight. Oh and my Mother joined the pod to tell her heat stroke story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode of The Problem of Our Time, Colin Harden shares a full interview with Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson, a medical anthropologist, scholar-activist, and board member across multiple North Carolina commissions and advisory councils. Johnson explains how her interdisciplinary work connects preservation history, public humanities, environmental justice, and participatory sciences. She defines environmental justice through its origins in 1982 Warren County, North Carolina, describing the injustice of toxic dumping in deliberately marginalized Black communities, and highlights health impacts such as cancer risks and endocrine disruption. Johnson discusses demystifying science through community and citizen science, including NASA programs and projects led by the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. She details the “Spidey Sensor” method, and describes community mapping and monitoring efforts to support organizing and policy advocacy against industrial waste, CAFOs, and landfills.00:30 Meet Dr Valerie Johnson02:56 Interdisciplinary Scholar Activism07:43 Defining Environmental Justice10:51 Health Impacts On Communities13:59 What Is Participatory Science19:56 Spidey Sensor Explained24:43 Ways to Join Citizen Science26:49 Mapping Hidden Poultry Farms29:57 Data for Organizing and Policy31:16 Rural Impacts and Environmental Injustice34:40 Movement Then and Now44:05 Afrofuturism and Imagining Justice45:15 Hopeful Closing and Credits Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is environmental justice—and why does it matter in Charlotte? Featuring John Rash and Dr. Valerie Johnson, Episode 1 breaks down the history, systems, and real-world impact of environmental inequality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.