There is no forever solution to nuclear waste, and humanity is doomed to always live with its drastic consequences. With underserved areas always getting the small end of the stick, Dr. Sarah Fox helps to elevate their voices by putting community storytelling in the spotlight. In this conversation with Corinna Bellizzi, she shares how she underscored the disproportionate impact of environmental contamination on marginalized regions by highlighting the stories and activism of ordinary people. Dr. Sarah also explains why the lives of everyday individuals must not be treated as less important than in-depth scientific researches, which both aim to build healthier and more sustainable communities.

About Guest:

Seattle-based author and historian Sarah Fox is drawn to the stories we tell about places, bodies, and the relationships between them. Fox is the author of Downwind: A People’s History of the Nuclear West (University of Nebraska Press, 2014). She is currently completing the manuscript for her second book project, At Home in the Plume: Unruly Waste and Reckoning in the Pacific Northwest. Fox holds a PhD in History from University of British Columbia.

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-alisabeth-fox-024a9391/

Guest Website: https://www.downwindhistory.com

Guest Social: https://www.facebook.com/downwindapeopleshistory

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Downwind: A People's History of the Nuclear West

Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Climate Change by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

Show Notes: Raw audio

00:02:51 - Author And Historian Sarah Fox

00:12:07 - Highlighting The Voices Of Ordinary People

00:15:56 - Trust The Experts Vs Questioning The Science

00:25:50 - How Underserved Communities Are Harmed By Fallout

00:34:49 - Hesitancy Around Preserving Nuclear Documents