Episodes
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Stat: 1 foot: the amount the sea level rose in the Chesapeake Bay in the last century, twice as fast as the global average.
Story: Climate change is driving sea-level rise and worsening coastal flooding across the globe. And in many coastal communities, the rising waters are changing local environments and the places people call home. For generations, the Nause-Waiwash people have raised families, worked, and practiced traditions like muskrat trapping in the marshlands of Marylandâs Eastern Shore. In this episode, Nause-Waiwash Chief Donna âWolf Motherâ Abbott takes us through her ancestral lands and guides us through muskrat hunting in the marsh. She discusses how her Tribeâs lands are disappearing and what sheâs doing to protect her communityâs histories and traditions.
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The rise of deepfakesârealistic fake videos made with artificial intelligence softwareâis making it even more difficult to sort fact from fiction.
When this episode originally aired in 2019, 57% of social media news consumers said they expected what they see there to be largely inaccurate. And the public continues to be wary about changes in the digital landscape. In 2023, Pew Research Center found that 52% of U.S. adults said they are more concerned than excited about AI in their everyday lives.
In this episode, digital forensics expert Hany Faridâthen at Dartmouth University, and now at the University of California, Berkeleyâshares how he advises governments and the media on how to meet this growing threat. And he considers the implications for people and societies when we canât necessarily believe what we see.
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Missing episodes?
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Stat: 2 million: The number of times people with mental health conditions in the United States are jailed annually.
Story: In the United States, law enforcement officers and emergency room physicians are often the only service providers on call to respond to people in a mental or behavioral health crisisâbut they don't always have adequate training or capacity to handle these calls. As communities throughout the country grapple with increasing demand for mental health resources, new solutions such as crisis response teams are making a positive impact.
In this episode, we travel to Abilene, Texas, to learn how its interdisciplinary response team is meeting the needs of its residents, keeping people out of jail, and strengthening access to care.
Additional guests featured in this episode: William Claxton, officer, Abilene Police Department, and former community response team member; Andrea Reyes, mental health crisis specialist, Betty Hardwick Center; Brad McGary, lieutenant, Abilene Police Department; and Josh Horelica, firefighter/paramedic, Abilene Fire Department, and former community response team member.
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If youâve ever seen a manatee, chances are you were in Floridaâbut these aquatic relatives of the elephant also live across 21 African countries. In this episode, 2017 Pew marine fellow Lucy Keith-Diagne discusses the African manatees that live in remote, murky waters, and explains what makes this species different from other manatees and the challenges marine scientists experience in collecting data on them.
Since this episode first aired in 2018, Keith-Diagne and her fellow researchers have collaborated at the first-ever African manatee conference and are initiating new work to help protect this species.
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Story: Mangrove forests are natural protectors, shielding coasts from storms, sheltering species, and soaking up carbon. In 2019, when this episode originally aired, 50% of the worldâs mangroves had been lost. Now, 50% of the worldâs remaining mangroves are at risk.
Reversing the decline of these habitats isnât just a scienceâitâs an art, says marine biologist Octavio Aburto. He uses his camera along with high-resolution satellite imagery to assess real-time changes in mangrove coverageâand to reveal the amazing hidden marine life of these critical ecosystems.
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The âAfter the Factâ team provides data and expert analysis on the biggest challenges facing society today. We go behind the scenes with experts, examine solutions pointing the way forward, and feature people and stories that bring data points to life.
What keeps you listening to the podcast? Tell us in a short survey at pewtrusts.org/podcastsurvey.
Upon submission weâll enter your name to win a $100 gift card. The survey deadline is Sept. 15 so fill it out soon for your chance to win.
Read the official rules for the âAfter the Factâ podcast giveaway sweepstakes here: www.pewtrusts.org/surveysweepstakes.
*NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open to legal U.S. residents of the 50 U.S., D.C. and Puerto Rico, age 18+ (19+ in AL and NE, 21+ in MS). Void outside the 50 U.S./D.C./Puerto Rico and where prohibited. Sweepstakes starts at 12:00:01 AM ET on [August 9, 2024]; ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on [September 15, 2024].
To enter, complete the survey below, provide all required information, and submit to be automatically entered with one (1) entry. Two (2) prize winners; total ARV of two prizes:
$200. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received, Limit: one (1) entry per
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Sponsor: The Pew Charitable Trusts, 901 E Street NW,
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Stat: 13%: The average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society. This is compared to a 90% average five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with breast cancer.
Story: Scientists have made tremendous progress on cancer research to improve patient survival rates. But challenges still exist because some cancers can suddenly become unaffected by treatment.
In this episode, Christina Towers, a cancer cell biologist from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, explains how cancer cells can adapt their metabolic processesâthrough a mechanism she studies called autophagyâto resist drug therapies. She discusses how her research studying this process could lead to new approaches to prevent and control a cancerâs resistance to treatmentâand, ultimately, save lives. And as the first Black faculty member at Salk, Towers shares how her mantra, âHonored to be first but refuse to be the last,â guides her efforts to increase diversity across the scientific community.
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Stat: 11%: An estimated 11% of U.S. adults who have ever had COVID-19 are currently experiencing symptoms of long COVID, which can last three months or longer. This suggests that millions of people across the country could be affected.
Story: Long COVID is a health condition thatâs continuing to puzzle scientists. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, doctors saw some patients who would recover quickly, while other peopleâs symptoms continued to worsenâand many symptoms varied widely and lasted long after the initial infection.
In this episode of âFrom Lab to Life,â Keyla SĂĄ, a researcher at Yale University School of Medicine, discusses her work tracking how long COVID develops and a new artificial intelligence tool that can identify the infectionâs symptoms and patterns that scientists might not normally recognize.
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Stat: 150%-300%: Beaches maintained with Indigenous management techniques experience 150% to 300% more clam production than beaches without.
Story: Conserving the environment sometimes requires people to actively manage a natural place and Indigenous communities across North America have shown the way for centuries. In this episode, Marco Hatch, associate professor of environmental science at Western Washington University and member of the Samish Indian Nation, discusses Indigenous stewardship practices, such as clam gardens on beaches, and how they inform conservation efforts today.
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Stat: 41%: The share of adults who experienced high levels of psychological distress at some point during the pandemic.
Story: New studies show that physical touch is vitally important to the human experience. And during the pandemic, many Americans felt the impact of its loss because of quarantines and isolation. But how do our brains and bodies distinguish between different types of touch? In this episode, Ishmail Abdus-Saboor of Columbia University discusses how his research tries to answer that question and explains what touch means for our mental and physical health.
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Stat: 73%: The percentage of U.S. adults who have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the publicâs best interests, according to Pew Research Center
Story: Scientific discovery is essential to advancing society and improving peopleâs lives. In this series, âFrom Lab to Life,â weâre featuring scientists from a range of fields who share a common goal of making the world a better place.
Trust in their work is vital to their success, so many scientists are recognizing the need to communicate more effectively to the public about their research and the impact it has outside of the lab.
In this episode, Pew Research Centerâs Alec Tyson analyzes the latest polling on trust in science, while Donna Dang and Rebecca Goldburg from The Pew Charitable Trusts discuss the importance of conservation and biomedical research to improve the health of our planet and communities.
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Every day, science is improving the world.
A new series from âAfter the Factâ tells you how. Featuring conversations with scientists from a range of fields, we look at innovative research thatâs advancing society and making peopleâs lives better.
We also learn more about the scientists themselvesâpersonal stories of how they got started and what motivates them.
Tune in to hear how these researchers are strengthening trust in science, building community, and making the world a better place.
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Stat: 49%: The share of Americans who say the availability of affordable housing in their local community is a major problem, compared to 39% in 2018.
Story: Montana has been rapidly attracting new residents for more than a decade and during the COVID-19 pandemic the pace only accelerated. Housing prices there have tripled in some cities just as in many other states that have seen an influx of people.
In this episode, we hear from Montana state lawmakers Daniel and Katie Zolnikov about the bipartisan legislation they championed to address rising concerns about access to housing. And Indigenous advocates in Montana, Jody Cahoon Perez, Tonya Plummer, and Patrick Yawakie, discuss how theyâre helping their Tribal communities seek more affordable and culturally appropriate housing.
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Stat: 12%: From 2017 to 2022, Minneapolis increased its housing stock by 12% while rents remained flat.
Story: Minneapolis is drawing positive national attention for the cityâs approach to curbing soaring housing costs. In this episode, we hear from Meg McMahan and Jason Wittenberg from Minneapolisâ Office of Community Planning and Economic Development about the cityâs history of disparities in zoning policies and the strategies theyâre implementing to secure more housing for residents.
We also hear from Margaret Kaplan, president of the statewide Housing Justice Center, about how the nonprofit helps people throughout Minnesota overcome barriers in securing housing, including access and financing.
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Stat: 70%: The share of Americans who think young adults today have a harder time than their parentsâ generation when it comes to buying a home.
Story: Putting a roof over their heads is a struggle for many Americans. Rising house prices, restrictive zoning, increasing rents, and a lack of small mortgages are some of the hurdles facing people who want a safe and secure place to call home.
In this episode, Alex Horowitz and Tara Roche, directors of The Pew Charitable Trustsâ housing policy initiative, join us to discuss some of the challengesâand how to overcome themâfor those pursuing homeownership.
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Stat: 60%: The share of Americans who say theyâre very concerned about the cost of housing.
Story: In just a few years, from 2019 to 2022, the national median sale price for a single-family home increased by 25%. And the rising costs of buying and maintaining a house has 60% of Americans concerned. Is the American Dream of homeownership out of reach for many?
In this episode of âHousing in America,â Richard Fry, an expert at the Pew Research Center, talks about the current trends in housing, like where people live, housing availability, and homeownership rates, as well as other factors that contribute to the complex housing landscape that Americans face today.
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Rising rents, escalating home prices, and limited housing supply. They are some of the forces pushing the American Dream of homeownership out of reach for many.
Increasingly, there is bipartisan support to find a way forward. In this season, After the Fact explores these trends and the challenges individuals and families face in finding housing thatâs affordable and accessible . We also speak with experts and policymakers who are trying to help more people find a place to call home.
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Story: Over most of last year, âAfter the Factâ looked at how people are restoring and building community at a time when the nation is divided and exhausted. From faith leaders to community activists, and from academics to policymakers, we found rich voices who offered stories of people coming together. At a time of division, they showed that unity is possibleâand, in fact, is happening in many places, probably even near you. As the new year begins, this special episode shares reflections from these change-makers and maybe even offers you a chance to become one of them.
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Stat: 57%: The percentage of Americans who believe that partisan conflicts receive too much attention these days.
Story: A majority of Americans say partisan fighting gets too much attention while important issues facing the country get too little. In the final episode of our season on polarization, Utah Governor Spencer Cox says elected officials can do better at bridging our political divides. He is chair of the National Governors Association and leads an initiative called Disagree Better* that is aimed not at ending disagreements, but in improving dialogue, building understanding, and respectfully listening to others. We also hear from Columbia Universityâs Peter T. Coleman about how we arrived at this level of polarization.
*The Pew Charitable Trusts is a funder of the Disagree Better initiative.
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Stat: 79%: The share of Americans who believe access to the internet and social media has made people more divided in their political opinions.
Story: Social media plays a significant role in society, but data shows that most Americans believe it negatively affects our democracy and contributes to polarization. In this episode of âBeyond Polarization,â we hear how high school senior Eli Tillemann is helping his classmates learn how to embrace diversity of opinions. We also speak with Heidi Hernandez Gatty from Dialectic, an organization that is working with students and others to help promote respectful dialogue. - Show more
