Fracking

There are fears that fracking is making people sick and ruining the environment, but what does the science say?

We often hear stories about fracking that go like this: a gas company comes to a small town, starts drilling wells, and then terrible things start to happen. People get sick. Water burns from taps. Earthquakes ruin houses. And the climate will soon be destroyed. But, is fracking really a disaster unfolding? To find out, Science Vs speaks to Prof. Robert Jackson, Asst. Prof. Peter Rabinowitz and Prof. Bob Howarth. We’re also joined by Pennsylvanian resident James Hughes and Seneca Resources’ Rob Boulware and Doug Kepler. 

Credits: 
This episode has been produced by Caitlin Kenney, Heather Rogers, Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser and Alex Blumberg. Production assistance by Austin Mitchell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris.
Recordings from the Town Hall meeting in 2014 are from NPR's WHYY reporter Katie Colaneri, and the team at NPR’s StateImpact Pennsylvania. Thank you. 
Big thanks to the Gimlet hive mind for comments, plus the Zukerman family. 
Music written by Bobby Lord. Sound design and music by Matthew Boll. Engineered by Austin Thompson.

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There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Gimlet Media that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to. This season we tackle alcohol, fasting diets, DNA tests, race and the fertility cliff.