Clearing the Air: Making Sense of the West Coast Wildfires

The saga over TikTok is back in the headlines this week. The Chinese-owned social platform is desperately looking for a match before Sunday - the deadline President Trump gave the company to find a buyer before it gets banned from the U-S. We’ll break down the drama over which company is getting TikTok’s final rose. 

And: the fires on the West coast have created some of the most unhealthy air quality… in the world. We’ll talk to experts about what can be done to stop each fire season from being worse than the one before. And explain the health risks of breathing in all this smoke. And for info on how to prepare your home for a wildfire, you can learn more here.

Also: live sports are back. But while COVID-19 infections aren’t slowing down the rush to get back on the field, what kind of message does that send?

Finally: come on board… a flight to nowhere. We’ll explain why some airlines are hoping you miss everything about travel, including just being on a plane. 

On this episode, you’ll hear from: 

• Kate Andrews, Portland, OR resident

• Lori Daniels, fire ecologist, University of British Columbia

• Haverty Brown, Portland, OR resident

• Dr. John Balmes, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

• Adamma Izuegbunam, volunteer with MasksOakland

• Nicole Fisher, public health consultant, HHR Strategies

Let us know what questions you have about what’s going on in the news right now. Email us at audio@theskimm.com or call and leave us a voicemail at: 646-461-6370. You might hear your message on the show.