Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

An Indoor Clean Air Act? with Linsey Marr

Sweeping public health acts for everything from clean water to the control of cholera have revolutionized modern life as we know it. The Clean Air Act, which sets standards for outdoor air, has been around for decades. But as we spend more time inside amid the pandemic, scientists are now recognizing the need for a new form of quality control: regulating indoor air. How do we design and reconfigure spaces to have cleaner air capable of combating airborne viruses? This week, Chris talks with a leading expert on the topic. Dr. Linsey Marr is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and has spent over a decade researching the transmission of airborne viruses. She joins to discuss the science behind how COVID is transmitted within structures, the short- and long-term effects of regulated indoor air and why an Indoor Clean Air Act could be transformative in homes, schools and businesses.

Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening?

This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest. “Why is this Happening?” is presented by MSNBC and NBCNews Think.