Toxic Progeny: Event, Pop-ups, and Adult Workshop

Many deeply believed that the invention of plastics and other materials was going to lead to a better, more prosperous world. The world in which we currently live is the utopia of this belief system. Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountain tops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Plastic has embedded itself into the foundational history of our planet in the form of Plastiglomerate Stones. It has given birth to new forms of bacteria and microorganisms. Plastic has revealed the illusion of our independence from our environment as nanoplastics pierce our cell walls and push evolutionary change in a real way.

For a special episode of Science and Society at Pioneer Works, guest host Prof. Jack Halberstam joined Heather Davis, author of Plastic Matter, and evolutionary biologist Malin Ah-King for a conversation about material responsibility in a world where contamination can’t be escaped and the future can’t be used as an escape hatch. Kari worked with the PW science team to create the event, book the guests, research and script the conversation, and produce it along with a companion pop-up featuring the Institute of Queer Ecology’s IQECO Field Station, and an asynchronous workshop called Worlding with the Molecular led by Mary Maggic.