Episode 37: Lead and IQ

Episode 37: Lead and IQ

Author: Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie May 14, 2024 Duration: 1:04:51

Petrol, pipes, paint: they made a whole generation duller. That’s if you believe the research on the effects of lead on IQ. By interfering with neurological development, the lead that we used to encounter routinely has left hundreds of millions of us with a tiny bit of brain damage.

In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look at the toxic effects of lead - from very obvious, high-dose lead poisoning to the more insidious, low-level effects that have apparently held millions of people back. How strong is the evidence for the effects of low-level lead exposure on IQ?

The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine, a journal of ideas to accelerate human progress. If you’re a student aged 18-22 and want to attend the Works in Progress “Invisible College” this August (at which Stuart is speaking), take a look at this link.

Show Notes

* Centers for Disease Control (CDC) page on lead poisoning

* Articles on the history of lead poisoning from the BBC and the Guardian

* 2022 PNAS study concluding that “half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood” (the one with the “824,097,690” figure)

* Article on blood lead levels and which are considered dangerous

* The 2005 meta-analysis on lead and children’s IQs

* Cited in the 2021 “Global Lead Exposure Report

* The critique from the CDC in 2007

* The critique paper from 2013

* The critique paper from 2016

* The correction from 2019

* The critique paper from 2020

* Quasi experiments: from Rhode Island; using manufacturing employment

* 2018 paper on low-level lead and all-cause mortality

Credits

The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

Every week, Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie pull apart the biggest arguments and most confusing claims making headlines. Science Fictions isn't just about celebrating breakthroughs; it's a necessary dive into the messy, contested, and often surprising realities of how science actually works. You'll hear them unpack heated debates, examine questionable studies, and explore why even solid research can sometimes lead to public confusion. This podcast serves as a guide through the noise, separating compelling evidence from overblown narratives. Each episode feels like a conversation with two deeply informed friends who aren't afraid to ask tough questions, offering clarity on topics that matter. For anyone curious about the stories behind the science headlines, this is an essential listen. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that goes beyond the press release, grounded in a genuine fascination with how we know what we know.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Science Fictions
Podcast Episodes
Paid-only Episode 15: Sex and sport [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:45
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comRather unexpectedly, the idea of separate sports for males and females has become massively controversial—a major flashpoint in…
Episode 58: Psychopathy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:30
Patrick Bateman. Hannibal Lecter. Ted Bundy. The guy who used to live downstairs from me. Psychopaths, every one. Except defining psychopathy, let alone measuring it, turns out to be surprisingly controversial among psyc…
Episode 57: Collider bias [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:30
Among patients hospitalized for COVID, smokers had better outcomes. Among people with cardiovascular disease, those with obesity live longer. Among NBA basketballers, taller players don’t do any better. These are all fac…
Episode 56: Water fluoridation and dentistry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:57
Is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., just a big crank? Well, yes. But is he nevertheless correct in his specific claims about the harms of water fluoridation? It’s long been argued that it’s no longer necessary, and that it might…
Paid-only Episode 14: Adult ADHD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:12
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comYou might’ve noticed it: a lot of celebrities have recently been talking or writing about their diagnosis of adult ADHD. The wa…
Episode 55: Government science funding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:06
In a desperate attempt to be relevant given the US Election, Tom and Stuart dedicate this episode of The Studies Show to talking about government investment in science. How bad is it if politicians cut the science budget…
Episode 54: Halloween special on psychic mediums [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:05
WoooOOOOOoooOOOOOoooo, it’s that time of year again! It’s Halloween, so it’s time for The Studies Show hosts to face their fears, and read the research from one of the weirdest areas of science, parapsychology.This time…
Episode 53: The Stanford Prison Experiment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:27
Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist who’s best known for running the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, died last week. That’s a good excuse to discuss his legacy: what did his famous experiment tell us about the power of…
Paid-only Episode 13: Surrogacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:27
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.comIt’s a constant source of online controversy: surrogacy. A “medical ethics” issue like this wouldn’t usually be a case for The…
Episode 52: Very old people and "Blue Zones" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:31
What’s the secret of living to 100? Well, it might be living in a “Blue Zone”: one of the handful of places around the world where there are apparently loads of centenarians. Except, as has been argued recently, Blue Zon…