Fresh Air An exposé of the plastic industry
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Apr 1, 2026 Beth Gardiner, investigative journalist and author of Plastic Ink, uncovers how Big Oil turned to plastics for profit. She discusses industry tactics, microplastics in our bodies, regulatory gaps, and the toll on Gulf Coast communities. Short, urgent reporting on who pays the price and why reducing plastic production matters.
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Cheap Plastic Reverses Supply And Demand
- Plastic can reverse normal supply-demand dynamics: businesses supply plastic packaging because it's so cheap, so consumers often don't choose plastic — they choose the product wrapped in it.
- Gardiner gives the grocery apple example and notes taxpayers absorb post-use disposal costs that keep prices artificially low.
Microplastics Are Ubiquitous In Air Food And Soil
- Microplastics are pervasive: we breathe them, eat them, and billions of bottle-equivalents fall on the U.S. yearly via wind and rain.
- Gardiner cites studies showing microplastics in soil, food chains, dairy piping, and widespread environmental deposition.
Microplastics Found In Human Brains
- Researchers found microplastics in all 52 human brain samples studied and higher levels in brains of people with dementia, but causation isn't established yet.
- Gardiner highlights the 2024 University of New Mexico study linking rising brain microplastic levels to concerning trends.
