Narrator/Announcer

The ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency team is one of the defining initiatives of President Trump's term so far. The Trump administration has posted a new online tracker that describes what it says are the dollars saved by the Department of Government Efficiency. The Department of Government Efficiency has made it a priority to gain access to computer networks across the federal government.

Hmm.

Alessandra has always wanted to be a parent. But as a climate journalist, she worries about the future her daughter will have on a warming planet. And we know a lot of you short-wavers carry this worry too.

So today's quest, kids. Having and raising a kid can feel like such a fraught decision these days. So what do experts have to say about it? And for people who do have and care for kids, how do you raise them in a way that's good for them and for the planet? You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

So joining me in the studio for this Nature Quest is producer Hannah Chin, my fellow Nature Quest co-creator.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey everyone, Emily Kwong here, and welcome back to Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a fellow short waver who's paying attention to the environment and how our choices shape the world.

I have read this paper, and the actions, the climate actions are pretty clear. They're things like, go car-free. eat a plant-based diet, and reduce flying as much as possible. So if you are a high emitter, about half of your carbon footprint comes from transportation.

Yes. And while this paper was focused on the individual decision of whether or not to have a child, I think that part of the public's reaction to this work is had to do with these longstanding debates about population and the environment.

This is Jade Sasser, an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies and society environment and health equity at UC Riverside. And she traced this idea all the way back to the 1800s and a British economist named Thomas Robert Malthus, who was writing against British laws that offered food aid to the poor.

To be clear, this is not the argument that Kimberly and her colleague were making. But it is important to think about how this broader dialogue about population and the environment has a checkered past. And in reality, population growth, particularly when it comes to consumption, definitely has local impacts on local resources.

But science tells us that is not what is driving global climate change.

Science tells us the issue is how we live, not that we live.

So Kimberly Nicholas, the scientist in Sweden, talks really differently about the kid question now. Now she focuses on the actions we should take to eliminate emissions today.

Yeah. And Jade understands that, too. She is really sympathetic to the emotions that climate change elicits.

This is a whole field of research now. Climate anxiety, sometimes called climate distress, it's defined as the psychological distress that individuals experience due to climate change and its impacts. And this growing body of research is showing that, yes, climate change is harming people's mental health and affecting their life choices. These are not flimsy feelings.

Absolutely. It's a concern, especially among our generation, among Gen Z and younger millennials. Jade took this topic so seriously, she wrote an entire book about it called Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question. And she told me that we don't know yet if people's climate reproductive concerns or hesitancy is driving large scale demographic changes. Right.

So if you're struggling with this decision, here's what Kimberly has to say.

The stories Alessandra covered at the time were unfolding in other countries, in Thailand and in Canada. But over time, she watched these climate narratives get closer to where she's from, Puerto Rico, Flint, Michigan, and eventually to her home state of California.

To figure out what actions you can take, Kimberly has created a high-impact climate action guide based on a study that she and researcher Christian Nielsen published in the journal Nature in 2021. It's kind of a choose your own adventure that you can fill out online.

climate catastrophe and you know i remember thinking my kids they'll be 14 in 12 years that's not even the full length of their childhood so now elizabeth works for a group called mom's clean air force that mobilizes parents and caregivers she's also written a book called parenting in a changing climate in which she tells parents to find support around this issue

Another place to start is with feelings. Jade recommended this tool called the Climate Emotions Wheel to help kids process how they feel, but more importantly, Help parents talk about how they're feeling. Yeah. Research shows that one of the barriers for parents even talking about climate change with their kids is their own unprocessed emotions. So Elizabeth shares those emotions with her twins.

They see her pain and they see her taking action on it.

And just as a reminder, Nature Quest is our new monthly series. It is built around you and on the changes you're noticing in the world around you. So send us a voice memo with your name, where you live, and your question, and we might make it into a whole episode.

Special thanks to Sam Paulson for writing the NatureQuest theme music. Beth Donovan is our senior director and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Emily Kwong. And I'm Hannah Chin. Thank you for listening to Shortwave from NPR.

And more recently, Alessandra has had other reasons to be thinking about the future. Because a couple weeks ago, she and her partner had a kid.

Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moan, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.

Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moan, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.

Support for NPR and the following message come from Jarl and Pamela Moan, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.

Mostly because of the cocktail of anesthetics, delivered through IV or inhaled as gases. But Elopi says there is tremendous power, too, in her words. She calls this part of her job verbal anesthesia.

Anesthesia literally means without sensation or feeling. But different types of anesthesia can do different things. General anesthesia involves losing consciousness. You often have a breathing device during those procedures. Sedation is anesthesia where you can breathe on your own.

And regional anesthesia is when one part of the body gets numb, like a leg or an arm, while local anesthesia is just numbing in one specific area. And all of that can be done with different medications. Elopi describes the operating room as her kitchen.

But instead of flour or sugar, Elopi is using different anesthetics like propofol, lidocaine, and different opioids. Anesthetics like these make all kinds of surgery possible.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Today on the show, we go into the operating room and under the sway of anesthesia, how this once controversial procedure became a cornerstone of modern medicine. I'm Emily Kwong, and you're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

Okay, Alopi, let's talk about anesthesia's history. When did people start using it and what kind of chemicals were most popular back in the day?

How was anesthesia used or not used for people giving birth back in the day? And how has that history evolved?

This is what you'd hear in surgery if Dr. Alopi Patel was your anesthesiologist. When she puts patients under, she tries to explain everything as it happens so patients know what to expect.

She was like, give me some of that good stuff. I am the queen.

Wow. Okay. So let's accompany you now through this process, starting from when a patient is being induced and the anesthetic starts entering their system. What is anesthesia doing to the body?

Okay. What is anesthesia doing to your nervous system?

It's like a pinball machine up there.

So the messages, like, are they just not getting through? Is it kind of like your body's like, pain, pain, pain, but then the receptors are like, eh, we're just going to ignore that message. Like, what's happening?

She'll put on your favorite music and continue this guided vacation imagery meant to put you as the patient into a relaxed state.

I didn't know you can't form memories under anesthesia.

That must feel like at once very powerful, but also a big responsibility that you are like guiding people through something that is so, they're so vulnerable in those moments.

Wow. Can you tell me a story about a time you were monitoring a patient under anesthesia that just like stays with you, that like taught you a lot or stayed with you for whatever reason? Do you have a story like that?

Which was?

Yeah, margarita. Salt or no salt? Margarita on the rocks. Salt. What type of flavor? Alopi then begins a process called induction, using medication to induce a state of unconsciousness.

What would you say to someone who maybe has an upcoming procedure where anesthesia will be involved? And let's say this person's nervous. What would you say to them?

Don't lie.

Elopi Patel, thank you so much for talking to me. And I hope if I ever have to go under, you are my anesthesiologist. It would be my honor. We go to Hawaii, girl. We would get away.

Guava margaritas. This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and edited by Burleigh McCoy. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer. Beth Donovan is our senior director. And Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Emily Kwong. Thank you for listening to Shorewave, the science podcast from NPR.

It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy.

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The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Thank you. I I I

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

This episode of the Moth Radio Hour was produced by me, Jay Allison, and Sarah Austin Janess, who also hosted and directed the stories in the show. Co-producer is Vicki Merrick, associate producer Emily Couch.

The rest of the Moth's leadership team includes Sarah Haberman, Christina Norman, Jennifer Hickson, Meg Bowles, Kate Tellers, Marina Cloutier, Leanne Gulley, Suzanne Rust, Sarah Jane Johnson, and Aldi Casa. You can find the extended interview with James Domeck Jr. and extras related to all of these stories at themoth.org.

Special thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their support of the Moth's Global Community Program. Moth Stories are true, as remembered and affirmed by the storytellers. Our theme music is by The Drift. Other music in this hour are from Carol Burnett, George Brandl Egloff, Sonny Rollins, and Bruce Coburn. We receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Special thanks to our friends at Odyssey, including executive producer Leah Reese Dennis. For more about our podcast, for information on pitching us, your own story, and everything else, go to our website, themoth.org.