First up on the podcast, freelance science and environmental journalist Quentin Septer joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about a controversial uranium mine getting fast-tracked in South Dakota. Septer chatted with locals, scientists, and regulators to learn more about the geology of the region and the promise of cleanup after the miners go home.

Next on the show, looking at cells that don’t get cancer. Giulio Ciucci, a postdoctoral researcher at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, talks about the infrequency of heart cancer and how the mechanical load that heart cells endure makes them resist turning cancerous.

*CORRECTION: In the on this site summary in this episode, the book author in the review by Kai Kupferschmidt was listed incorrectly. The correct information is: True Color by Kory Stamper, Knopf, 2026.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

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Cleaning up uranium mining, and how the heart avoids cancer