Nov. 8, 2011 — Historian David Kinkela discusses his book, “DDT and the American Century: Global Health, Environmental Politics, and the Pesticide that Changed the World.” Kinkela, an associate professor at the State University of New York-Fredonia, traces the history of the controversial pesticide DDT, starting with its early deployment during World War II as Allied troops sought to halt the spread of disease-carrying insects in war-torn Europe. Increasingly used as a “miracle” agricultural pesticide and malaria deterrent, DDT fell into disfavor after the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962.
Note: The above dateline refers to this interview’s original airdate on WRCT-Pittsburgh. It was uploaded unchanged to Remapping Debate in February 2013.
