From beached whales to human heart disease, noise pollution is worse than we thought. Jessica Wynn sounds the alarm here on Skeptical Sunday!

• Noise pollution is significantly more harmful than commonly recognized, contributing to approximately 48,000 new cases of heart disease in Europe annually and ranking second only to air pollution as the most harmful environmental exposure to public health.
• The impact on wildlife is severe — noise pollution disrupts animal communication, breeding patterns, and navigation, particularly affecting marine life. For example, increased shipping noise has led to whale beachings and is threatening species like the Narwhal with extinction.
• Noise pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities, who often live near flight paths, highways, and factories, with limited options for relocation despite the serious health impacts.
• The US has largely abandoned federal noise control efforts since 1981 when the Reagan administration defunded the Office of Noise Abatement and Control, leaving communities without comprehensive protection against harmful noise levels.
• There are several effective ways individuals and communities can take action against noise pollution: supporting local noise ordinances, using quieter electric alternatives to gas-powered equipment, incorporating sound barriers in construction projects, and being mindful of our own noise contributions. Small changes in our daily habits can help create quieter, healthier environments for everyone.
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
• Connect with Jessica Wynn and subscribe to her newsletter: Between the Lines!

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1079

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The love of your life's drinking keeps derailing your plans. When does supporting become enabling and love become liability? Welcome to Feedback Friday!

And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger (@JordanHarbinger) and Gabriel Mizrahi (@GabeMizrahi) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com. Now let's dive in!

• We have an update on the listener from episode 1066 whose boyfriend's ex accused him of molesting her son and his own children!
• You're in what feels like a dream relationship with a partner who showers you with affection, but they're struggling with alcoholism and financial dependency. You've invested in a second home banking on their renovation skills, but their sobriety keeps wavering. How do you balance love with responsibility?
• You're an entry-level kitchen designer dreaming of working at a full-service residential design firm. You want to reach out to prospective companies to learn what skills you need to develop, but crafting that perfect networking message feels daunting. How do you make that first impression count?
• At age 44, you're still grappling with the pain of your father leaving when you were 12 after getting another woman pregnant. While you love your dad and half-brother, you harbor deep resentment toward his new wife. Can old wounds ever truly heal?
• Your college roommate's boyfriend is moving into your building, and his behavior has always concerned you — from uncomfortable PDA to concerning power dynamics. Additionally, your friend has shared some troubling details about their relationship. How do you protect your friend while respecting boundaries?
• Recommendation of the Week: Inflatable Hot Tub
• For 40 years, you've crafted creative, personalized Christmas ornament cards that tell your family's annual story. While many cherish this tradition, some never acknowledge receiving them. Should you keep investing time and emotion into reaching out to an unresponsive void?
• Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at friday@jordanharbinger.com!
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter at @JordanHarbinger and Instagram at @jordanharbinger.
• Connect with Gabriel on Twitter at @GabeMizrahi and Instagram @gabrielmizrahi.

Full show...

Want to write a great screenplay? Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Arndt shares secrets from Pixar, Hollywood, and a decade of script doctoring!

• Success in screenwriting often requires extreme persistence and resilience — Michael Arndt wrote 10 screenplays over 10 years before selling Little Miss Sunshine, and even then did about 100 drafts of that script before it was ready.
• The best stories often create a "tilted universe" where the protagonist is a response to or antidote to the negative values of their world (like Robin Hood emerging in response to an unjust system, or The Dude's laid-back nature contrasting with an aggressive world in The Big Lebowski).
• Audience feedback is crucial but challenging to balance — as Michael quotes Billy Wilder: "Individually they're idiots, but collectively they're a genius." You have to respect audience intelligence while still maintaining your creative vision.
• Great endings often work by creating a false binary (win/lose) and then revealing a surprising third option that exceeds audience expectations — like in Little Miss Sunshine where Olive neither wins nor loses but creates something entirely unexpected.
• Anyone can improve their storytelling by studying great stories and breaking them down systematically — Michael's own journey shows that storytelling is a craft that can be learned through careful analysis, practice, and continual refinement of understanding how stories work. His video essays on screenwriting (available on YouTube) offer concrete tools for developing these skills.
• And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1077

If you love listening to this show as much as we love making it, would you please peruse and reply to our Membership Survey here?

And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!

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