Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, with Dan Egan

For this week’s episode, Dan Egan, the Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Pulitzer Prize finalist, joins host Margaret Walls to discuss his book, “The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance.” Through stories about the history of phosphorus—including why it earned the “devil’s element” title—Egan describes the large-scale ecological experiment in a Canadian lake that opened people’s eyes to the connections between phosphorus, agriculture, and algal blooms, also noting the challenges of reconciling business interests with environmental concerns. Despite ongoing water pollution in the Midwest, Egan’s experience as a Great Lakes journalist has shown that clearing toxins from waters is a goal within reach that has wide-reaching benefits. References and recommendations: “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance” by Dan Egan; “The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea” by Jeffrey Marlow; “A Terrible Country” by Keith Gessen;

You can listen to Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, with Dan Egan online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, with Dan Egan is an episode from Resources Radio by Resources Radio.

This episode is 00:32:13 long.

This episode was published on Feb 23, 2026.

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