As my book undergoes final revisions, Dr. Shanna Swan’s documentary The Plastic Detox is being released on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82074244. I interviewed her last year about her book Countdown (2021), which has gotten a great deal of press for research showing that sperm count has decreased 50% in 50 years globally. She told me when we talked that that decline is accelerating.
Swan appeared on Rogan and Huberman, brilliantly articulating the science and her message that we are catastrophically altering human reproduction with our rampant and wasteful use of plastics. Not only do plastics pollute at every stage of their lifecycle; we now know that micro- and nano-plastics are found in every ecosystem and every human tissue tested. There is very good reason to believe these exposures are contributing to the rise of chronic illnesses that is indisputable, affirmed even by MAHA.
In the documentary, Swan clears plastic and personal care products out of the homes of six couples with unexplained infertility. When we talked, she wouldn't spoil the ending, but said the results were exciting.
I am going to resubscribe to Netflix just so I can watch this film with my students.
As you prepare to watch -- or after you have -- I invite you to read my full interview at https://open.substack.com/pub/poisoningchildren/p/dr-shanna-swan-brilliant-scientist?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web. Highlights will be featured in my book Poisoning Our Children, due out early 2027 from Johns Hopkins University Press.
