What comes to mind when we think about toxicity in everyday life? It could be toxic relationships or masculinity – through to consumption, waste, governance and environmental harm. Alice Mah joins Uncommon Sense to discuss toxic expertise, waste colonialism and more.The author of “Petrochemical Planet: Multiscalar Battles of Industrial Transformation” and “Plastic Unlimited: How Corporations are Fuelling the Ecological Crisis and What We Can Do About It”, Alice reflects on what the petrochemical industry has to do with sociology. From the impact on marginalised communities often having no choice but to live in a toxic environment through to the concept of “waste colonialism”.She also introduces us to the work of Dr Max Liboiron and their work CLEAR (Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research) – an interdisciplinary plastic pollution laboratory whose methods foreground humility and good land relations. Alice explains how the work of CLEAR has impacted her and made her think a little differently when approaching her own work.Guest: Alice MahHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochGuest Producer: Emma HoultonSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon SenseEpisode ResourcesBy Alice MahPetrochemical PlanetPlastic UnlimitedToxic ExpertiseFrom the Sociological Review FoundationDeep Time, Intergenerational Knowledge, and Socio-Ecological Futures – The Sociological Review Annual Lecture 2024 by Alice MahInto the abyss: Monsters, minerals and deep-sea mining in Norway’s blue economy – Jennifer E. TelescaClimate Justice – magazine issueFurther resources“The Climate of History in a Planetary Age” – Dipesh Chakrabarty“Pollution Is Colonialism” – Max Liboiron“Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution” – Gerald Markowitz, David Rosner“The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World” – Linsey McGoeyCivic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR)“The Blue Planet” – documentary TV series presented by David Attenborough“Dark Waters” – film directed by Todd Haynes – based on Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare”Production Note: This episode was recorded in July 2024.Support our work. Make a one-off or regular donation to help fund future episodes of Uncommon Sense: donorbox.org/uncommon-sense

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