The Plastic Detox: Reducing Endocrine Disruptors for Better Fertility and Human Health with Shanna Swan & Sian Sutherland | RR 23
The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens
Why High Sperm Counts Matter
Shanna explains thresholds like ~40–75M/mL and how lower counts dramatically reduce conception probability.
The number of couples struggling to become pregnant due to unexplained infertility is growing at an alarming rate across the globe. Alongside this concerning rise is the growing awareness of how endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) – particularly those found in plastics and personal care products – are negatively affecting our hormonal health and overall well-being. If we removed or reduced EDCs from the environments of couples struggling to conceive – dramatically reducing their exposure – is it possible their fertility would be improved?
In this episode, Nate is joined by Dr. Shanna Swan, an award-winning scientist, and Sian Sutherland, a plastics expert, to discuss Shanna's new Netflix documentary, titled The Plastic Detox, where she enacts a real-world 'plastic intervention' in the lives of six couples struggling with unexplained infertility – with the hope that they are able to get pregnant by the end of the study. Additionally, Sian shares the strategies her organization has been using to increase regulation of EDC-containing products and increase the availability of plastic-free options. Shanna and Sian also discuss how they're bringing their work together for the Plastic Free Babies campaign, which emphasizes why avoiding toxic chemical exposure during the first one-thousand days of a baby's life is so important to preventing generational effects on overall health and fertility.
How might reducing our exposure to EDCs such as phthalates, bisphenols, and parabens improve markers of hormonal health and create ripple effects on our overall quality of life? What is the reasonable responsibility of our governments to test and regulate the safety of products on the market – and are our current institutions fulfilling those expectations? Finally, could addressing the toxins and pollution related to declining fertility lead us down a path of broader systemic change for the entire web of life?
About Dr. Shanna Swan:
Dr. Shanna H. Swan, PhD, is an award-winning scientist based at Mt. Sinai (New York, NY). Shanna has published more than 200 scientific papers and has been featured in extensive media coverage around the world. She currently serves as the Director of the Action Science Initiative, a program that conducts rapid interventions and larger, longer-term studies that look at the impacts of environmental pollutants on fertility and related markers of reproductive health. Additionally, Shanna co-authored the 2021 book, Countdown: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.
Most recently, Shanna was featured in the documentary, The Plastic Detox, where she helped six couples dealing with unexplained fertility reduce their exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in their environment in hopes of getting pregnant. The movie was released on Netflix on March 16th, 2026. Shanna's previous appearances include ABC News, NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, CBS News, PBS, BBC, PRI Radio, NPR, Andrew Huberman Lab, and The Joe Rogan Experience.
About Sian Sutherland:
Sian Sutherland is Co-founder of A Plastic Planet, one of the most recognized and respected organizations tackling the plastic crisis. More recently, she also co-founded PlasticFree, the first materials and systems solutions platform, empowering the 160m global creatives to design waste out at the source. Sian was awarded the Female Marketer of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, and British Inventor of the Year. In 2023 at the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC2), in partnership with Plastic Soup Foundation, A Plastic Planet launched the Plastic Health Council, bringing expert scientists to the negotiating process with the irrefutable proof of plastic chemicals' impacts on human health.
Most recently, in early 2024, Sian co-founded the Foundation for Visionary Science and Art with Alex Adams, working with the scientists to help fund their extraordinary research work on psychedelic therapies. Passionately pro-business and solutions focused, Sian believes the plastic crisis gives mankind a rare gateway to change both materials and systems to create a different future for next generations.
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