Western Europe has been experiencing its hottest temperatures in the history of humanity this week, so it felt like a good time to resurface this episode I recorded way back with my old co-host Andrew Lewis, and our guest Eric Dean Wilson, author of After Cooling: On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort.

We take a look back at the history of air conditioning (it’s weird and wild), and try to understand how we almost managed to destroy all life on earth in our quest for personal comfort. And don’t miss Eric’s journey into the shady underworld of used refrigerant sales to understand just why dudes are so attached to their Freon.

This episode is part of the Non-Toxic Performative Male Book Club. It’s a series of all the author interviews I’ve done over the years, featuring some of the smartest writers, journalists, and academics I know. If you’re into Non-Toxic book coverage, click on any episode with the tag “Performative Male Book Club” to find more good books for guys who read, or pretend to.

To listen to the second part of this conversation, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription to Non-Toxic.

Lastly, if your A/C is busted and you need to get rid of it, read the EPA’s advice on how to safely dispose of it first. Because letting that stuff escape into the atmosphere is not good!

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