Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, with Dan Egan

About this episode

Dan Egan discusses his book on phosphorus and its ecological impacts.

For this week’s episode, Dan Egan, the Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Pulitzer Prize finalist, joins host Margaret Walls to discuss his book, “The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance.” Through stories about the history of phosphorus—including why it earned the “devil’s element” title—Egan describes the large-scale ecological experiment in a Canadian lake that opened people’s eyes to the connections between phosphorus, agriculture, and algal blooms, also noting the challenges of reconciling business interests with environmental concerns. Despite ongoing water pollution in the Midwest, Egan’s experience as a Great Lakes journalist has shown that clearing toxins from waters is a goal within reach that has wide-reaching benefits. References and recommendations: “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance” by Dan Egan; https://wwnorton.com/books/the-devils-element “The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea” by Jeffrey Marlow; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652987/the-dark-frontier-by-jeffrey-marlow/ “A Terrible Country” by Keith Gessen…

People in this episode

Host: Margaret Walls

Guest: Dan Egan

Topics covered

• phosphorus
• ecology
• agriculture
• water pollution
• algal blooms

Keywords

• The Devil's Element
• Great Lakes
• environmental concerns

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea, A Terrible Country

Books & works: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, Brico Fund, Pulitzer Prize, The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea, A Terrible Country”

Places: Midwest, Great Lakes

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