"To Demonstrate It Was Safe": Politicians Putting Their Bodies On The Line

Politicians get a bad rap, don’t they? Every mutterance and every action falls under intense scrutiny from the press and the public eye. If they make one wrong move, we’ll know about it and keep talking about it for ages too.   Maybe that’s why politicians go to such great lengths to win the people over. Like when Governor Carey of New York volunteered to drink a glass of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls - highly carcinogenic chemical compounds) to prove a state building was safe.    It seems that drinking a cup of toxic liquid is the go-to political move. Punjab State Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, downed a glass of polluted water from a holy river in 2022 on the heels of a campaign to clean water bodies. He was hospitalised for 2 days. Then there’s the bizarre demonstration from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who allegedly drank fracking fluid in a ritual-like manner around a table. Bit culty.   While you could argue that demonstrations like these showcase leadership and a willingness to share risks with the public, they could also just be downright reckless and stupid.  CHAPTERS: 00:00 Don’t put torpedos in your mouth 03:06 Mad Cow Disease: Putting beef to the test 05:47 President Obama drinks lead-lined Flint Water  08:35 East Palestine toxic chemical water 11:58 The Fracking fluid ritual 15:41 Proving that New York Midtown is safe 18:41 Nuclear bombs are perfectly fine 20:35 Dining Dangers: From COVID to Cholera 25:38 Product safety testing downfalls 32:03 What’s next on the Wholesome Show   SOURCES: Communications and Politics, in The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and  Management in Trying Times by Joshua M Sharfstein   Ex-N.Y. Gov. Hugh Carey dies at 92, Politico   Factiva archive  Food Irradiation by the CDC   New York Times Archive  Trove  The cholera epidemic in Latin America, Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen   What became of Cordelia Gummer, the Mad Cow girl?, Daily Express  Vets dismiss fears of 'mad cat' disease, New Scientist   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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