Radiation is everywhere. It's emitted by our sun, by cat litter, by bananas and occasionally by nuclear bombs. It's even emitted by you, and by me, and by every living (and dead) person in the world. So why are we so scared of something so prevalent in our everyday lives?
While certain types of radiation can be very harmful in high doses, our fears may have more to do with how radiation is portrayed than it does with the actual danger of exposure. Today we talk with experts about the benefits, risks, and oftentimes misguided fears of radiation.
GUESTS:
- Tim J. Jorgenson - Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine, and Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection graduate program, at Georgetown University; author of Strange Glow: The Story of radiation
- David Ropeik - Speaker and consultant on risk perception and risk communication; author of How Risky Is It, Really? Why Our Fears Don't Match The Facts
- Francis Cucinotta - Professor for the department of health physics and diagnostic sciences at the University of Nevada and an expert on radiation exposure and risk management in space
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 21, 2018.
