Sam and Emma host Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Sussex, to discuss his recent book Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse, on the rampant decline of insect populations worldwide over the last few decades, and how the trend continuing could completely alter our relationships to crops and practically all plant life. Professor Goulson dives into the essential niches that insects fill, from their role as pollinators to being bio-control agents and recyclers of all sorts of life, as well as the ties between climate change and the insect apocalypse, both in terms of the issues that create them, and in how they reinforce each other. Next, he, Emma, and Sam discuss how this trend towards extinction is hitting the pollinating insects we appreciate (butterflies, bees) while the pest-like ones (mosquitoes, houseflies) have been able to adapt and thrive in human habitation, before they get into the effects we’ve seen, and what the future of this trend could look like, from hand-pollination to massive food scarcity. They also touch on the biggest drivers of insect extinction, with habitat loss at the top of the list, alongside insecticide, changing climates, even light pollution, and Professor Goulson reminds us of the ease with which this could be reversed, both on a structural and individual level. Sam and Emma also dive into the continued fear-mongering around inflation and the deficit when it comes to infrastructure, while we’re about to pass a $780 billion defense budget and remind us of the dangers of nonstick pans as PFOS are revealed to be even more toxic than we thought.

And in the Fun Half: Bro Flamingo calls in to discuss accountability and punishment, especially when it comes to the Rittenhouse case, Sam clarifies his position on being a socialist (he doesn’t have one), and the crew comes up with a perfect solution to Alec from Minneapolis trying to shift his parents away from cable news: the Majority Report. Mehdi Hasan goes after Brad Raffensperger, forcing the issue of supporting Trump to the fore, Chris Christie gets shamed by Nicolle Wallace for criticizing MSNBC and CNN while letting Fox run wild, before he also births the discussion of the Mount Rushmore of Trump-Cucks. Ronald Raygun corrects the record on what’s wrong with Sam, Candace Owens presents a platform of Stolen Valor, and Jeremy from TX talks doomsday prep culture, plus, your calls and IMs!