Raising up the voices of feminist scientists and activists
SALLY EDWARDS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, HOST
Sally created the Persistent and Pervasive podcast in 2020 to amplify the voices of feminist scientists and activists developing creative solutions to protect the health of people and all of Earth’s inhabitants. She has had a long and varied career as an environmental health scientist working with governments, NGOs and businesses to design safer and greener products.
ANNA MASON
PRODUCER & HOST
Anna is a producer and archive assistant who has been helping make Persistent and Pervasive a reality since its inception. She is currently a mentor at Chicago Public Library's YOUmedia center for teens, and is always tinkering on other production projects. She cares deeply about environmental justice, feminist/queer histories, and public media's ability to tell those stories.
In 2020, we embarked on a project to raise up the voices of feminist scientists and activists who are designing solutions to environmental health problems through research, education and awareness raising, policy advocacy and direct action. Our lens for this project is consumer products that are particularly marketed to, and used by, women and girls. We view this project as a sort of “crash course” in feminist environmental health that provides a way for listeners to become informed about the scale of the problem, how they, their families and their communities may be impacted, and how to advocate for solutions.
Our pilot episode focused on toxic chemicals in menstrual and intimate care products. We examined the history of these products, the toxic ingredients in them and their potential impacts on women’s health, disproportionate exposures across different communities, and the ongoing work of scientists and activists to ensure that these products are safe for all.
Episodes 2 and 3 focused on toxic chemicals in cleaning products and their impacts on the millions of women who work as domestic cleaners. In episode 2, we learned about the chemicals of concern in these products, and got a historical perspective on the conditions faced by domestic workers and their struggles to improve their situation. In Episode 3, we focused on the efforts of organizers, domestic workers and scientists to strive towards safe and healthy working conditions, as well as job security and benefits for those in the cleaning work sector.
In 2022, we are continuing our interviews with scientists and activists to learn about their current work, their paths to get there, what inspires them and what it means to tackle environmental health issues from a feminist/intersectional perspective. Episode 4 explores toxic chemicals in Black hair care, including a discussion of social and cultural issues.