Ted Audio Collective. Hey Ted listeners, it's Dr. Shoshana Ungerlighter.

Our city sewers aren't just conduits of waste.

It turns out their treasure troves of data, sharing the hidden tales of our collective health

and lifestyle.

These systems have many secrets to be uncovered, and in this subterranean data stream, each flush is more telling than you might think.

Each time a sink or toilet is used, it reveals insights into our community's well-being,

from the spread of infectious diseases to dietary patterns.

In her engaging talk, Urban Studies researcher Noosha Galey takes us on a fascinating dive into the under-explored world of wastewater.

Listen in as she unveils how these unassuming waterways offer a flesh of data, shaping the future of public health and city planning. Has it ever occurred to you as you walk down the street just how much data is

flowing beneath your feet.

A wealth of information on our health and our well-being

is running through our city sewers,

and we're all contributing to it,

every single time we use the toilet. Think about it. Everybody peas and poops.

And we know that urine and stool contain a rich source of information on our health and our well-being.

Our doctors look at it all the time to analyze for a variety of things.

Now every time you flush, you're sending this valuable information down into our sewers

where it's mixing with waste from hundreds of

thousands of other people. Once collected, this tiny sample comes from a wastewater

treatment plant that represents more than 1 million people.

And from it, we can detect all sorts of things about that community, the infectious disease

viruses that are circulating in our bodies, chemical markers for the drugs that are most commonly

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