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The Jordan Harbinger Show

1307: Water Filters | Skeptical Sunday

The Jordan Harbinger Show

Jordan Harbinger

Education, Business, Science

4.8 • 12.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is your water filter giving you something even more contaminated than what's flowing from the tap? Jessica Wynn pours us some facts on Skeptical Sunday.

Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1307

On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:

  • Most US tap water meets or exceeds federal safety standards, but those regulations were written decades ago — meaning your water may be "safe" by outdated benchmarks that don't account for emerging threats like PFAS forever chemicals, agricultural runoff, and lead from aging infrastructure.
  • A neglected water filter can become a breeding ground for bacteria, making your water dirtier than what comes straight from the tap — if you're not replacing your Brita, Pur, or other cartridge on schedule, you're essentially cultivating a miniature ecosystem in your fridge.
  • The bottled water industry is largely repackaged tap water sold at a massive markup — brands like Dasani and Aquafina source from municipal supplies, and the FDA regulates bottled water less strictly than the EPA regulates what flows from your faucet.
  • Scammers and pseudoscience have infiltrated the water filter market — from dishonest salespeople using chemical reagents to fake contamination in your home, to "alkaline" and "structured water" claims that have zero scientific backing, fear is the industry's most profitable product.
  • You can take control of your water quality with a few simple, empowering steps — request your free Consumer Confidence Report from your local utility, test your water independently, match any filter you buy to the specific contaminants found, and look for NSF or WQA certification to ensure it actually does what it claims.
  • Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
  • Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!

And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!

This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is sponsored in part by Conspiruality Podcast.

0:03.6

You know how I'm always talking about critical thinking and spotting manipulation?

0:06.8

Well, there's a podcast that's all about dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and

0:11.4

conspiracy med yogis, basically the wild overlap of spirituality and misinformation.

0:16.4

It's called the Conspiruality Podcast.

0:18.7

The hosts, a journalist, cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic,

0:22.3

dive deep into how this stuff spreads, from Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation's

0:26.8

dystopian vision of the future to how former leftists get pulled into far-right conspiracies.

0:31.8

An interesting episode to check out is called Speaking Truth to Goop, where Jen Gunter breaks

0:35.7

down the pseudoscience behind the wellness industry

0:37.5

in a way that is super entertaining and eye-opening. It's sharp, funny, and makes you a lot harder

0:42.2

to fool, which if you listen to this show, you know I'm all about that. From exploring cults to

0:46.3

analyzing our cultural and political landscape, the Conspiruality Podcast will help you stay informed

0:51.0

against misinformation and resist fear tactics.

0:58.8

Find Conspiruality on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

1:07.1

Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host writer and researcher Jessica Wyn. On the Jordan Harbinger show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you. Our mission is to help you become a better informed, more critical thinker, and during the week, we have long-form conversations with a variety of amazing folks, from spies to CEOs, athletes,

1:28.9

authors, thinkers, performers.

1:30.7

On Sundays, though, we do Skepical Sunday.

1:32.5

A rotating guest co-host and I are going to break down a topic you may have never thought

1:35.7

about and debunk common misconceptions about that topic, such as circumcision, astrology,

1:41.4

acupuncture, the death industry, weddings, fast fashion, hypnosis, and more.

1:45.3

And if you're new to the show or you want to tell your friends about the show, I suggest our episode

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