On February 3rd, a train derailed right outside of East Palestine, Ohio. Toxic substances were released into the air, thousands of gallons of oil leaked into the ground, and the residents of the town feel they have been forgotten. This week, activists Justin Garner and Emily Wright join Jonathan to talk about what’s happened in the eight months since the disaster, and what we can all do to help.

We get into our conversation with Emily and Justin around 8 minutes into the episode, so skip to then if you simply can’t wait to hear from them! For more information on the news stories we covered this week, head to @curiouswithjvn on Instagram.

You can follow River Valley Organizing on Instagram @rivervalleyorganizing, Twitter @RiverValleyOrg, and Facebook @rivervalleyorganizing. Their website is rivervalleyorganizing.com.

Justin Garner is the Communications Director for River Valley Organizing. Emily Wright is an activist, organizer and resident of the area surrounding East Palestine, Ohio.

Tune in next Monday for another episode of our other new series Pretty Curious, all about beauty—and every Wednesday for an all-new episode of Getting Curious.

Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Find books from Getting Curious, Curious Now, and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our producer is Chris McClure. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices