Outspoken government scientists are increasingly hard to find in Washington. This episode tells how one high-profile epidemiologist withstood political pressure and intimidation throughout his career in his quest to protect public health.

Fumed is a production of Public Health Watch, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to investigating life-threatening public health inequities. Listen to the award-winning first season at fumedpodcast.com. To support our independent journalism, visit: publichealthwatch.org/donate.

Hear the story of a con man and a group of hardscrabble East Texas farmers who uncovered the biggest oilfield in U.S. history — and how that discovery forced an obscure state agency to confront the destructive forces of unrestrained oil drilling.

Listen to: The Disconnect

Written, reported, produced and co-hosted by Mose Buchele
Co-hosted and produced by Audrey McGlinchy
Produced and Edited by Matt Largey
Production help from Rene Chavez and Jake Perlman

Greg’s house is burned down and his video camera shows the face of the suspected arsonist — a man he doesn’t know. Greg thinks the barge company he’s been monitoring is behind the fire, but he has no proof. Greg carries a gun wherever he goes, and Carolyn and her husband make sure their guns are always nearby. Neither she nor Greg can afford to move away from the dangers that surround them — so for now, they’ll keep fighting to preserve what remains of the community they love.

To see pictures of Carolyn and Greg and learn more about Channelview, go to fumedpodcast.com.

CREDITS

Greg is rescued from his home when Hurricane Harvey hits Channelview. The floodwaters gash a temporary cap that covers the Superfund site, unleashing chemicals into the river. Carolyn and Greg join forces to create the Channelview Health and Improvement Coalition. Greg campaigns publicly — and successfully — against a barge company’s plan to dig up tons of river sludge to make way for more barges.

To see pictures of Carolyn and Greg and learn more about Channelview, go to fumedpodcast.com.

CREDITS

Carolyn’s neighborhood becomes ground zero for Channeview’s rapid industrialization. A fire engulfs a nearby chemical storage facility, and a barge company builds its headquarters across the street from her house. Greg uses drones to keep tabs on the chemical barges that are moving into his neighborhood, close to a Superfund site filled with cancer-causing dioxin.

To see pictures of Carolyn and Greg and learn more about Channelview, go to fumedpodcast.com.

CREDITS

It’s the 1980s. Carolyn Stone and Greg Moss have settled into quiet lives in Channelview — an unincorporated community outside Houston, in the heart of the nation’s petrochemical industry. But within a few years, petrochemical plants and chemical barges move in, and air pollution and industrial accidents become routine. When they realize that state lawmakers and regulators aren’t going to protect them, Carolyn and Greg start fighting back themselves.

To see pictures of Carolyn and Greg and learn more about Channelview, go to fumedpodcast.com.

CREDITS

Fumed is an investigative podcast about two stubborn Texans trying to salvage what's left of their working-class community. That’s a problem, though, because they live in East Harris County, where the petrochemical industry calls the shots — and where pushing back can be dangerous. A four-part series from Public Health Watch.