Plastic isn’t just a pollution issue – it’s personal. Microplastics and toxic chemicals are in our brains, our blood, our food, and our unborn children – with health risks linked to rising rates of chronic illnesses like cancer. For millions of hopeful couples, this chemical exposure is harming our fertility and stealing our right to a family. Our bodies are no place for plastic.
“Creating The Plastic Detox” is a special series where we connect with the producers, experts, and families from the Netflix film, “The Plastic Detox,” which reveals the startling effects plastics and toxic chemicals are having on our bodies and health.
The Pollution Effect with Dr. Shanna Swan and Professor Jasmine McDonald
When most people think about climate change, they picture melting glaciers or rising seas. But what if the climate crisis isn’t just happening around us? What if it’s happening inside us?
What if the same pollution warming the planet is also disrupting our hormones, our fertility, and the future of our children? This episode features Dr. Shanna Swan and Professor Jasmine McDonald — two leading scientists whose research connects chemical exposure, plastics, reproductive health, cancer risk, and environmental justice. And through the Netflix documentary The Plastic Detox and ongoing public engagement, their work is reaching living rooms across the world.
The Production Effect with Josh Murphy
As we continue our focus on how film and production function as tools for justice, we’re leaning into the idea that storytelling doesn’t just inform—it transforms. Because culture shapes policy. And policy shapes lives. When we talk about the climate crisis, we often focus on policy debates and scientific reports. But film has the power to make those realities personal to help us see the human stakes behind the data.
Host Rev Yearwood is joined by Josh “Bones” Murphy, an award-winning filmmaker, director, and lifelong environmentalist whose work brings complex environmental issues to the screen in ways that challenge systems and spark conversation. From overfishing to plastic pollution, his films push us to look deeper at how our choices and our structures impact communities and ecosystems. He is also a producer on the Netflix documentary The Plastic Detox.
The Personal Effect with Julie and Eric
Over the past few weeks we’ve been exploring the many layers behind the Netflix documentary The Plastic Detox as part of our special series rollout — looking at how storytelling, science, and community come together to address the plastic pollution crisis.
First, we explored the production side — how filmmakers bring these stories to life. Then we looked at the pollution itself — the chemicals and plastics making their way into our environment and even into our bodies. Today we focus on the people.
Because behind every statistic, every study, and every headline about pollution, there are real families and real communities living with the consequences. Today we’re joined by Julie and Eric Isaac, whose story helps bring the human dimension of the plastic crisis into focus through their participation in The Plastic Detox, streaming on Netflix.