Today, we're airing an episode of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. It's about a group of people we know well: scientists. President Trump's federal cuts and scrutiny of academic institutions are forcing some U.S. scientists to head for the border. On today's show, an entomologist keeping America's farms safe from pests reconsiders America. And a CEO of a Canadian hospital explains how they are benefiting from the exodus. Want to learn more about the intersection of science and the economy? Email us at [email protected] to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the focus of this episode about scientists?
You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, Shortwavers, Regina Barber here with one of the co-hosts of NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money, Darian Woods. Hey, Darian. Hey, Gina. OK, so we brought you on because of some labor reporting you've been doing.
Yeah, this is a regular installment at The Indicator. We look at how many jobs the U.S. economy has added. The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show us that it was 177,000 jobs in April, which is a pretty healthy number. But the important thing for you and shortwave listeners is that recently, co-host Adrienne Ma and I zoomed in specifically on scientists in the U.S.,
Chapter 2: How are federal cuts affecting U.S. scientists?
Right, like all of the federal spending cuts that have been like changing the landscape for people who like do the science that we discuss on Shortwave day in and day out.
Yeah, the frozen NIH funding and government layoffs are pushing some scientists abroad.
Yeah, I remember reading like 75% of respondents to this Nature poll back in March have considered leaving the United States.
Chapter 3: Why are U.S.-based scientists considering moving abroad?
And some of those people are putting their money where their mouths are.
I actually know some researchers who are applying abroad.
Okay, well, they might make up some of the next statistic, which is that the jobs website Nature Careers saw a 32% increase in U.S.-based scientists applying for jobs elsewhere in the first three months of this year.
That is so much.
It's real.
So today on the show, the scientific brain drain. Darian and Adrian get personal with a Hollywood entomologist reconsidering the United States and a Canadian CEO who's seen an opportunity to attract world-leading health scientists over the border. You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
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Chapter 4: Who is Armando Rosario Lebron and what does he do?
Armando Rosario Lebron has been into bugs ever since he was a kid in Puerto Rico.
Spending a lot of time in the rainforest will do that to you, I think. It's one of those things where it's the closest thing to studying like a little alien sometimes. It's just a joy.
Aw, little Armando. Well, little Armando grew up to be big Armando, who actually works with bugs for a living. On the side, he consults for film and TV. Like, he's consulted on spiders for Netflix's House of Cards and on hissing cockroaches for Chef Gordon Ramsay's new show, Secret Service.
We were putting the hissing roaches across a table so that Gordon's head was going to pop over the table. A few of them kept ending up in his hair, so I was digging hissing roaches out of Gordon Ramsay's hair. That was interesting. Yeah.
Chapter 5: How do entomologists contribute to border security?
I would love to hear the outtakes from that filming session.
Yeah, it may not be safe for radio broadcast. Armando's full-time job, though, is working at the Smithsonian Institution. There, he's a biological science technician. He specializes in looking after the collections that include the aphids and the whiteflies. He's also a union vice president, representing many federal workers involved with border biosecurity.
He explains the importance of entomology at the border like this.
I like to start this with the story of a banana, okay? Imagine a banana begins in Costa Rica and it arrives at a port of entry.
Yeah, and actually picture a whole freightload of bananas. These bananas are inspected by a Customs and Border Protection officer who might have been trained by an entomologist. And if they see a strange bug in these bananas, that bug might be sent to an entomologist for identification. Meanwhile, the freight unloading is paused because the wrong insects getting into the U.S.
can be economically crushing.
That could be hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to the U.S. farmers. Is that right?
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Chapter 6: What challenges are U.S. scientists facing today?
Potentially billions. Potentially billions. I give people the worst case scenario of what happened, and it was the citrus industry from Florida. What if I told you that 92% of Florida oranges has declined because of a psyllid? Asian citrus psyllid came in, brought in a bacterial infection that infects the trees. devastated the industry and then hurricanes came in and there were other factors.
But that psyllid was a big, big factor in this.
But recently, with job cuts, resignation offers and funding freezes, Armando was wondering whether he wants to be working in the U.S. He says he lost three technicians thanks to the recent job cuts in February. And as a union representative, Armando has spent countless hours on the phone talking with distressed colleagues.
We have employees who every day are really worried that they're going to make a misstep. Will I say the wrong thing one day and I will be fired? And this environment of fear is everywhere.
A few months ago, Armando applied for a PhD program in the UK, and in March, he was accepted. But he was also torn about whether to take the offer, given how much he loved his current job at the Smithsonian.
I mean, what other job like this exists in the world that you can work with your love of bugs, work in these collections that are just world-class, and to have this really important mission where it's keeping the country alive having a great safe food supply, keeping invasive pests out. I mean, it doesn't get any better than this.
Each to their own. Clearly, Armando has found bug bliss, right? He's so passionate about what he does, really like any institution looking for an entomologist would be lucky to have him.
Yeah, that is true. Overseas universities, hospitals, and labs are rubbing their hands at all these enthusiastic, smart people like Armando suddenly considering leaving the U.S. Kevin Smith is the president and CEO of University Health Network in Canada.
It's about 44,000 people who make up the community at UHN.
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