Matt Simon | An Island Press author

Matt Simon

Matt Simon has been a science journalist at Wired magazine for nine years. He covers a range of beats, including biology, robotics, climate change, and of course, microplastic pollution. He is the creator of Wired’s Absurd Creature of the Week column, which ran from September 2013 to March 2016. This later turned into the weekly web video series Absurd Creatures, which was then adapted into the hit Netflix series Absurd Planet, which premiered in April 2020. Matt is the author of two previous books. The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems, which cataloged the strangest creatures on Earth, won an Alex Award in 2017. This inspired his second book, Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World—and Ourselves, which dove deep into the science of how parasites mind-control their hosts, published in 2018.
 
 

A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies

Matt Simon, science journalist at Wired magazine, has published the first book to fully explore the threat of microplastics. Publishers Weekly describes the book as a “lucid, distressing look at a growing environmental concern.” In this webinar, Simon will share how the study of microplastics began in the sea but has now moved to land, the atmosphere, and human health.

A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies

Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. They’re small enough to enter our cells, and they can mimic our hormones. Scientists are only beginning to understand the long-term impacts these invisible contaminants have on our bodies—many have been linked to diseases, from diabetes to certain cancers. Plastics are a risk to all of us—made up of over 10,000 chemicals that are harmful to our health and the planet.

How to Fix the Mega Problem of Microplastics

Ocean Conservancy invites members of the media and the public to join an hour-long discussion and Q&A session on the prevalence and impacts of microplastic pollution and solutions to the problem. The event will be moderated by Dr. Chelsea Rochman, Assistant Professor of Aquatic Ecology at University of Toronto; and paneled by Dr. Britta Baechler, Ocean Conservancy’s Associate Director of Ocean Plastics Research; Dr. Anja Brandon, Ocean Conservancy’s Associate Director of U.S.