meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Life Kit

How to protect yourself from poor air quality

Life Kit

NPR

Business, Health & Fitness, Education, Kids & Family, Self-improvement

4.54.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2023

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Canadian wildfires are causing poor air quality in parts of the U.S. The health effects of smoke and poor air quality are dangerous. Here's how to stay safe when the air quality is unhealthy.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're listening to LifeKit from NPR.

0:07.0

Hey everybody, it's Mary Elstagara.

0:10.3

I'm looking out my window right now and there's this gray haze in the sky.

0:15.5

It's not like a regular cloudy day.

0:17.5

It looks like the sky and some of the photos I've seen from Mars.

0:21.4

And if you actually go outside, it smells like a barbecue.

0:26.9

It's wildfire smoke.

0:28.6

Hundreds of fires are burning right now in Canada.

0:31.2

And the wind has blown the smoke over Ontario, Quebec, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,

0:38.1

Washington, D.C. and beyond.

0:41.0

And as someone who's lived on the East Coast for most of my life, this is just not something

0:45.1

I'm used to.

0:46.1

And it's overwhelming and depressing, to be honest.

0:50.0

But on today's episode of LifeKit, I'll be talking to somebody who does have experience

0:53.4

with this.

0:54.4

This baker is a producer for NPR's National Desk.

0:57.3

And she's based in Los Angeles, which often gets smoked out in late summer.

1:01.6

She's covered many wildfires and has suffered through smokey air from Oregon, to Minnesota,

1:07.2

to Australia, to Rome.

1:09.7

And she's here to help.

1:14.2

Hey Liz.

1:15.2

Hi Mary El.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.