Gold Derby predicts 'Antiques Roadshow' will win Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmys

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for the nominees in Structured Reality Program" at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for today's post, so here they are.

Outstanding Structured Reality Program

• Antiques Roadshow (PBS)
• Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)
• Love Is Blind (Netflix)
• Queer Eye (Netflix)
• Shark Tank (ABC)

These are the only nominations for these shows, so I can't use their other nominations to handicap them. While Queer Eye won last year, the Gold Derby odds doubt it will repeat. Instead, 71.4% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 75.4% of users expect Antiques Roadshow will win. The remaining experts are split with 14.3% each forecasting Queer Eye and Love Is Blind. The users break that tie with 14.8% backing Queer Eye and 6.6% loving Love Is Blind. 33.3% of editors and 3.3% of users selected Shark Tank. No one thinks Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives will win. Always a nominee, never a winner.

That's a wrap for today's installment. Stay tuned to see if I continue tomorrow with the reality competition category.

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards
• Drink to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show's Emmy nominations on National Piña Colada Day
• 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains Trump's Big Beautiful Ballroom' plus the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music
• 'Oceans with David Attenborough' tied with 'Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
• 'Mr. Scorsese' vs. 'The American Revolution' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series plus Data Centers on Earth Overshoot Day
• 'The Daily Show' examines Fauci's testimony and RFK Hospital plus Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show'
• John Oliver examines 'Trump & Crypto' plus Emmy nominations for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'

'Love on the Spectrum' leads Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards

I'm stepping over the fine line between nonfiction and reality for today's awards show coverage by examining nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

• America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
• Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (MTV)
• Summer House (Bravo)
• Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

Love on the Spectrum leads with five nominations, followed by Welcome to Wrexham with four, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked tied at two, and Summer House with just this one. That's close to how the Gold Derby odds rank their odds. Every expert, 83.3% of editors, and 87.6% of users picked Love on the Spectrum to repeat. The editors and users split on which shows could upset the leader. America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the choice of the remaining 16.7% of editors but no users, while 7.5% regard RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked as the runner-up with Welcome to Wrexham at 4.3% and new nominee Summer House as the selection of the final 0.5%.

I'm glad to see America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders repeat its nomination and Summer House replace The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The latter was trashy fun, but it struck me as exploition of exploitation.

Follow over the jump for the rest of these shows' nominations.

'Bankrupt - iRobot (Roomba Vacuum)' and 'The Decline of iRobot (Roomba)...What Happened?'

I decided to blog about something else besides awards shows today, specifically something related to the Retail Apocalypse, Bankrupt - iRobot (Roomba Vacuum) by Bright Sun Films.

Evolving from a robotics company working in government contracts and toy contract work, iRobot eventually released a consumer product of their own, the Roomba, that would define not only their entire corporate future, but the industry that they essentially created. However, just 4 years after their all time peak in revenue and popularity, the company had declared bankruptcy. Join me in this video as we find out what happened to iRobot and their flagship product line, the Roomba robot vacuum.

It seems no tale of the Retail Apocalypse is complete without either private equity or Amazon, and this story has both, although in potentially helpful roles, not competitors or bad managers. Also, this is another example of a company that florished during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were at home, then got into trouble when they returned to work, although that wasn't the primary issue; competition and weak innovation were.

As I've written before, no bankrupt company's story is complete without Company Man telling it, so here is Company Man Mike asking The Decline of iRobot (Roomba)...What Happened?

The company that popularized the robot vacuum has been struggling. This video outlines some of the main reasons behind those struggles.

Company Man Mike made a list of the reasons for iRobot's decline.


As I wrote above, competition and weak innovation were the main reasons for iRobot's decline. Using cameras instead of LIDAR is, as Company Man Mike pointed out, one of the reasons why Tesla's self-driving technology is inferior to Waymo's. I hadn't even considered the privacy issues with cameras instead of LIDAR, but they're valid. As for relying on vacuum sales over other applications and markets, iRobot made the decision to sell their military products early on and it made sense at the time. As for other consumer products, it wasn't for lack of trying. iRobot tried, but failed.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more awards show coverage.

John Oliver examines 'Trump & Crypto' plus Emmy nominations for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'

As I promised yesterday, I'm resuming awards show coverage as the Sunday entertainment feature. I begin with the most recent video from today's featured nominee, Trump & Crypto: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

John Oliver discusses how the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures have overshadowed their other businesses, how they’ve created massive conflicts of interest for the Trump administration, and what it all has to do with Fartcoin.

Five years ago, Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump was skeptical, if not downright hostile to cryptocurrency. Three years ago, he was all in. In between, a lot of cryptocurrency money poured into campaigns. I'm sure that helped change a lot of politicians' minds, including Pervert Hoover, but I'm with John; it was mostly what crypto could do for his personal and family fortunes that did the trick. That turned out to be correct. File that under "even a stuck clock is right twice a day."

Purchases of Trump family memecoins are not only making Pervert Hoover, his wife, and sons rich, they're buying access. They're also affecting legal actions, which intersects with Trump's pardons. I'm recycling what I wrote about Bitconned in 'Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy' leads Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

This reminds me of McMillion$, an examination of an elaborate scam and the scammers behind it. It also shows the fine line between business and the economy on one side and crime and justice on the other. I'm not surprised the two intersected at cryptocurrency.

Or that they intersected the Trump family business, either.

I shouldn't be surprised. As I first remarked in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 1, "Jailbirds of a feather flock together," especially jailbirds useful to Pervert Hoover.

Follow over the jump for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver's Emmy nominations.

PBS Terra and Vox explain the forecast 'super El Niño'

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for a look at the predicted 'super El Niño'...to kick off August." I begin that examination with Weathered on PBS Terra warning A SUPER El Niño Triggered History’s DEADLIEST Disaster. THIS One Might Be Worse.

The 2026 El Niño could be the strongest we’ve ever seen. And to understand its potential impacts, we’ll take a trip back in time to 1877. That El Niño triggered one of the most devastating natural disasters in human history. What could this one do?

Yikes! This is the first I've learned about the famines of 1877 and 1878, so it shocks me that they were so deadly. That the British Empire made things worse was the least surprising part of the story; Infidel753 and I had the following exchange in the comments to SciShow warns 'The Potato Famine Could Happen Again'.

Infidel753: Obviously any threat to the world's third-largest food crop is a serious concern, but this video hugely understates how much the Irish potato famine was exacerbated by politics. "Unhelpful policies adopted by their neighbors in the UK" doesn't begin to cover it. At that time Ireland was completely under British rule (part of the British Empire), a colonial possession under the heel of a government the Irish had no say in. The conservative British government at the time refused to provide any help at all to the starving Irish, partly motivated by racism (Celtic people were thought of as a different race at the time) and partly by a pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps Ayn-Rand-like mentality which was common in the ruling class at the time (this was later applied during a famine in British-ruled India, with equally disastrous results).

If the colonial government had merely provided the normal level of food aid typical of what governments do in such situations, most of the deaths would have been prevented. If such potato crop failures were to occur today, presumably modern governments would do their job and provide help to the affected people.

Me: Thanks for adding the needed context to the video. Yes, the British/English made things much worse by continuing to use Ireland as a resource colony throughout the famine, including making the Irish pay their rent in wheat and Ireland being a net exporter of food. They also exported those policies to the rest of the British Empire, as you pointed out. What they did in India, they did it in Ireland first.

Infidel has English ancestry, while I identify as Irish, but we both agree on what the British did to the Irish and how terrible it was.

I'm also reminded of what I wrote in 'Human Footprint' on PBS Terra describes 'The Mysterious Mass Extinction Hidden in LA' explaining why studying the past is important for predicting the future.

It also reminds me of two examples of why studying the past is important for understanding the present and predicting the future. The first comes from Prehistoric lions of Eurasia and North America for World Lion Day 2022: "one of the points of paleontology is to learn from the past and apply the knowledge gained to the present." The other I wrote in NOVA warns of 'The Next Pompeii' for the Ides of March.

[P]rocesses that happened in the past are likely to repeat in the future, so understanding the past is essential for preparation. This is a key takeaway from uniformitarianism, the concept that everything we see in nature is the result of everyday processes occurring over sufficient time, which is boiled down to "the present is the key to the past." It also means that the past is the key to the future.

File all the above under "it's a always a good day when I learn something new."

What I learned today belongs in that file, too.

Vox included less history but more current events when it explained How a Super El Niño affects the global climate.

On June 11, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an El Niño advisory after temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean remained higher than average for several months. Declaring an El Niño isn’t out of the ordinary, as they happen in cycles every two to seven years. But this one could be extraordinary.

Some are calling it a “Super” or “Godzilla” El Niño, and the NOAA predicts an 81 percent chance that it could develop to a “very strong” level, rivaling the historic and devastating El Niños of 1982-1983 and 1997-1998. Experts are predicting it will likely reach its peak this winter and into 2027, bringing heat, rainfall, and other potential extreme weather events.

But even with that foresight and climate models that can confidently predict what might be in store, we still face a test of what could potentially be the strongest El Niño ever recorded and the wild weather that comes with it. We spoke with atmospheric scientists and meteorologists to find out how a Super El Niño forms, why it changes global climate, and what we should expect in the coming months.

Vox examined the disturbing possibilities even deeper, including the historical analogues, in The “Godzilla El Niño” is coming | The Gray Area.

Sean talks with journalist David Wallace-Wells about a looming climate event that could make 2027 one of the hottest years ever recorded. They discuss the return of El Niño, why some scientists are calling it a “Godzilla El Niño,” and what it could reveal about the future of global warming. They also explore climate adaptation, political complacency, extreme weather, technological progress, and whether humanity is prepared for the world it’s creating.

I'd prefer Godzilla on movie and television screens, not in the weather. That written, it's worth knowing what's coming so I and others can be prepared for it.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more awards show coverage as the Sunday entertainment feature.

'The Daily Show' examines Fauci's testimony and RFK Hospital plus Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show'

I told my readers, "Stay tuned for more awards show coverage" and it's also the end of the month, when I shift to topical coverage I can share the next month, so I'm featuring Fauci Takes the 5th Amendment While MAGA Cracks His Diary Open & Calls Him Hitler | The Daily Show.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate in the GOP's hyperpartisan investigation into his "megalomania" and alleged mishandling of Covid, despite the fact that Trump admitted to having “a lot of respect for Dr. Fauci” during the pandemic. Jordan Klepper gets into the hearing’s biggest moments, including Fauci repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment, Senator Josh Hawley invoking Fauci’s diary entries, and one Instagram commenter invoking the eggplant emoji.

Six years ago, I wrote, "May the real Dr. Fauci be more appreciated when the COVID-19 pandemic is over than Kate McKinnon's portrayal of him hopes." This hearing shows that hasn't happened. Instead, not only did misinformation and the partisan divide drive a surge in U.S. COVID deaths, they led to scapegoating Fauci. That's quite the fall from Fauci and others being named Time Magazine's Guardians of the Year in 2020.

As for Senator Hawley's accusations against Fauci, they're an example of Projection being the Right's favorite defense mechanism; every accusation is a confession. All of Hawley's smears are even more true about Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump, except for doing the most damage to science. That dishonor belongs to RFK Jr. I made a sign for the No Kings protests that says as much.


I'll get back to Brainworm later. Time to return to the hearing and its coverage on Fox News, which is all in on "the Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis." I last discussed that in 2021 and have ignored it since, as I don't want to contribute to the acceptance of what I think is a conspiracy theory. That isn't stopping the Fox News anchors or their guests, particularly ex-coach, current Senator, and likely future Governor Tommy Tuberville, who, if he wants to cite one unofficial idea, might as well cite another, "16 million to 28.1 million with the most likely figure being 21 million, 3.1 times the total of official deaths." It would scare people even more than 9 million and it has better support than the lab-leak hypothesis, which I think is based on xenophobia, partisan wishful thinking, and a questionable intelligence report not supported by scientists. It doesn't help that Fox News undercuts that position by their consistent underplaying of COVID-19. Logic and reason are not their strong suit, but I wrote that the late Jerry Pournelle, himself a conservative, described conservatives as irrational fifteen years ago, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I couldn't agree more that staff cuts at Health and Human Services, the CDC, and NIH are among the reasons the U.S. is "losing a diarrhea war with lettuce." That deserves its own post, but not today. Instead, I'm moving on to Desi Lydic Foxsplains Anthony Fauci's Pandemic Diary | The Daily Show.

Fox News got a hold of Anthony Fauci's Covid-era diary, and Desi Lydic is ready to Foxsplain every evil detail.

HAHAHAHA! All except the lettuce being from Michigan — that hits too close to home, literally.

Now to get back to Brainworm with RFK Hospital: An Original Series Inspired by the Medical Advice of RFK Jr. | The Daily Show, an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment).

America might be getting sick of RFK Jr. as health secretary, but much like the worm in his brain, he doesn't appear to be going anywhere. While you won't find his brand of non-professional medical advice on "Grey's Anatomy" or "The Pitt," you can find it on a bold new medical drama: RFK Hospital.

On the one hand, HAHAHAHA! On the other, this is the kind of health care leader Fauci's enemies want to listen to. I'd rather follow Fauci.

Speaking of following, continue over the jump for The Daily Show's Emmy nominations.

'Mr. Scorsese' vs. 'The American Revolution' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series plus Data Centers on Earth Overshoot Day

As I promised twice, I'm resuming my coverage of this year's Emmy nominees by finishing my examination of the documentary categories because I promised The American Revolution vs. Mr. Scorsese.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series

• The American Revolution (PBS)
• Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)
• Rafa (Netflix)
• Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix)
• The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO)

Mr. Scorsese and Sean Combs: The Reckoning co-lead with three nominations each, followed by The American Revolution and The Yogurt Shop Murders tied at two and Rafa with one. That's not exactly the order that the prognosticators at Gold Derby handicap this category. The professionals mostly picked Mr. Scorsese to win with 62.5% of experts and 57.1% of editors along with 37.6% of users, while 57.9% of users support The American Revolution with the remaining professionals, 37.5% of experts and 42.9% of editors, agreeing. The rest of the users rank Sean Combs: The Reckoning third with 2.9%, Rafa fourth with 1.3%, and The Yogurt Shop Murders fifth with 0.3%.

This ranking reflects what happened at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, where Mr. Scorsese beat The American Revolution for Best Limited Documentary Series. Electorates matter, so I think, all things being equal, the Television Academy will vote for a good story about one of their own, and I think all things are equal here.

Follow over the jump for the categories documentaries are competing in that I haven't examined yet, an update on the first post in this series, and a video about Earth Overshoot Day.

Marsh Family sings 'Silicon Valley' plus International Tiger Day

I promised a song by the Marsh Family for today. Watch and listen to "Silicon Valley" - Marsh Family arrangement of traditional American folk song "Down in the Valley".

‘Down in the Valley’ – sometimes also known as ‘Birmingham Jail’ – is a traditional American folk song that was circulating in earnest in the 1920s. Versions have been recorded by a huge set of music icons, with our favourites including those of Pete Seeger, Tex Ritter, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys, Solomon Burke, and a Glen Campbell version which encouraged us to include modulations up a perfect fourth cos they’re very uplifting.

The song comes from a deep heritage mixing English, Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, and Ozark influences, with its distinctive mournful (perhaps jailhouse) waltz. For our version we’ve stepped away from a love ballad, but there is a lament in the arrangement and it hopefully feels resonant of US pioneer history. It contemplates how some of the more progressive ideas that were kindled by early generations of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have been flamboyantly cast aside by the latest cohort, as they move aggressively to embrace a different set of values – scrabbling for an ever-more concentrated and destructive matrix of resources and power, while backfilling flimsy self-oriented rationales. Not that US tech or Silicon Valley didn’t always have its fair share of corporate greed, competition, and self-promotion, but there was often at least a veneer of social conscience, environmental mindfulness, techno-altruism, and a kind of confidence and coolness that the current crop of tech bros have lost, as they suck at whatever teat will fit with their fantasies of deregulation, accumulation, and self-glorification.

The lyrics referencing The Lord of the Rings remind me of Vox asking 'What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir?' "[C]yberpunk villain ideas straight out of Snow Crash" and "bad readings of classic fantasy." Also, William Shockley serves as a cautionary tale that Silicon Valley has seen brilliant people go bad in similar ways before.

As for the techbros resembling Bond villains, I've said that before, writing "Musk thinks he's Tony Stark (the "real-life Iron Man"), but he's really a Bond villain, specifically a cooler version of Hugo Drax." I also reacted to a video that is no longer available by referring to a parody of a 007 villain.

That was a hilarious impression of Jeff Bezos as Dr. Evil listing villains both billionaires should be compared to. The only one I thought the DJ missed was Lex Luthor. After all, the same actor has played both Zuckerberg and Luthor.

Just to complete the circle back to The Lord of the Rings, I did so in Colbert and others have a good laugh at Zuckerberg saying his employees call him 'Sauron'. I think Meta's employees are on to something.

Today is International Tiger Day, so I'm closing with International Tiger Day by National Day Calendar.

Ready to protect nature’s top jungle predators? On this episode of National Day Spotlight (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/), Marlo Anderson (https://marloanderson.com/) and co-host Alice Anderson are looking to conservation efforts for International Tiger Day... They’ll focus on vanishing wild habitats and the global efforts underway to ensure a safe future for these animals of majestic stripes. Tune in for an inspiring look at wilderness protection!

I'm not done with environmental holidays, as tomorrow is Earth Overshoot Day for 2026. I'll mention it, but I think it will play second fiddle to the Emmy Awards. Americans are quite clear about our screwed-up priorities, and I'm an American. Stay tuned.

'Oceans with David Attenborough' tied with 'Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

I'm returning to coverage of the Emmy Awards today after taking a break from entertainment in general and awards shows in particular yesterday. I can't be all DOOM or all fun all the time. Since today is World Conservation Day, I'm examining the categories with nature documentaries, beginning with Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

• John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
• Marty, Life Is Short (Netflix)
• Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (HBO)
• My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO)
• Ocean with David Attenborough (Nat Geo)

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough co-lead with six nominations each, followed by John Candy: I Like Me with five nominations and Marty, Life Is Short tied with My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay at three. Normally, I'd consider Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough to be co-favorites, but the experts, editors, and users at Gold Derby disagree. They think John Candy: I Like Me and My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay to be the favorites, with 50.0% of experts, 28.6% of editors, and 61.0% of users picking the former, while 50.0% of experts, 57.1% of editors, and 26.3% of users choosing the latter. Normally, I'd favor the editors over the experts except one of the experts picking John Candy: I Like Me is Joyce Eng, whose opinion I trust. The remaining editor(s), 14.3%, are currently voting for Ocean with David Attenborough along with 3.5% of users. The rest of the users are split between Marty, Life Is Short with 6.2% and Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! with 3.0%. I've often written that, all things being equal,the Emmy electorate will vote for a good story about themselves. The corollary is that they will vote for a nominee about a dead celebrity over a living one. The prognosticators at Gold Derby seem to agree. Again, electorates matter.

That was the program category with one nature documentary nominee. Now for a performer category with three out of the five nominees in nature documentaries.

Outstanding Narrator

• Sir David Attenborough – A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (Netflix)
• Sir David Attenborough – Ocean with David Attenborough (Nat Geo)
• Jodie Foster – Breakdown: 1975 (Netflix)
• Werner Herzog – Ghost Elephants (Nat Geo)
• Octavia Spencer – Lost Women of Alaska: "The Missing" (Investigation Discovery)

The experts, editors, and users disagree about the odds in this category, too, with 87.5% of experts and 83.0% of users but only 28.6% of editors electing for Sir David in Ocean with David Attenborough, 42.9% of editors along with 12.5% of experts and 9.4% of users choosing Octavia Spencer, and the remaining 28.6% of editors along with 2.9% of users on board with Warner Herzog. The remaining users split between Jodie Foster at 2.6% and Sir David's other nomination at 2.1%. Let's see who switches first, the experts or the editors.

The remaining four categories in which Ocean with David Attenborough earned nominations are Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program (covered in 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards), Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary/Nonfiction or Reality Program (Original Dramatic Score) (sort of covered in 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (covered in 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special). I don't feel like looking at any of them today, so instead I'm embedding CONSERVATION DAY | July 28 by National Day Calendar.



Do you enjoy the outdoors? Let us know!
Ha! No wonder Teddy Roosevelt was rated the most environmental president!

That's a wrap for today. I plan on resuming Emmy coverage Thursday. In the meantime, I have a song by the Marsh Family planned for tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards
• Drink to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show's Emmy nominations on National Piña Colada Day
• 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains Trump's Big Beautiful Ballroom' plus the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• 'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• 'Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age' earned two Emmy nominations for its VFX and music

SciShow recounts 'The Time England Ran Out of Bones,' a story of phosphorus

Usually, I blog about entertainment to take a break from serious subjects. I can't be all DOOM all the time. Today, I'm taking a break from awards shows to share SciShow and Hank Green telling the tale of The Time England Ran Out of Bones.

Britain's population exploded during the Industrial Revolution. To sustain that growth, they needed a lot of food and, therefore, a lot of fertilizer. Their ports were clogged with boatloads of imported poop and bones from all over the world, until they discovered a rock that was the best fertilizer of all. Ever since, our entire global food system has precariously teetered on access to a precious fossil resource: phosphorus.

This video serves as a companion to SciShow examines ammonia, a molecule that has fed billions through fertilizer, which I'm recycling as part of my response.

A fact I repeat to my environmental science students is that synthetic fertilizers are responsible for growing enough crops to feed at least one billion people and are the number one reason for increased crop production. It turns out I may have been understating their importance...fertilizers have helped feed billions. The BBC went farther, quoting Svein Tore Holsether, head of fertilizer company Yara, reporting that "He pointed out that half of the world's food production is dependent on fertiliser." That was in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about which Holsether told the BBC "Putin has weaponised energy and they're weaponising food as well." Yikes! That's a topic that deserves its own post.

This isn't that post. Darn.

SciShow did make up for a deficit I noticed three years ago.

SciShow didn't even mention the effects of excess fertilizer washing into the environment and causing eutrophication. That's a word I've never used on this blog before, which means I need to write a post about that, too.

Hank and SciShow at least included this effect as an result of (over)fertilizing crops. Count this as a down payment on that promise.

Hank pointed out that the current major sources of phosphorus are nonrenewable and will run out. That's something I've told my students, but it's not going to be fixed until we approach the production peak, much like petroleum. That might happen as soon as the middle of this century. I might not see that happen, but my students will, so they're the ones who will have to deal with it. In the meantime, they can watch this video and turn in a summary for extra credit. Welcome to blogging as professional development.