Bad Idea #65 “Flint was poisoned” with Dr. Siddhartha Roy

Saving the World From Bad Ideas · Nov 5, 2026 · 59m

In this episode of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, host Mark Lynas is joined by Dr. Siddhartha Roy, an environmental scientist who was among the first researchers to identify lead contamination in Flint, Michigan’s tap water. Dr. Roy discusses his team’s critical role in exposing the crisis and holding city officials accountable — as well as his subsequent less popular but data-driven research that created friction among his allies and the public. Drawing on millions of blood lead test results, this later work by Dr. Roy and his team challenged claims that widespread lead poisoning was…