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The Biggest Chemical Coverup In History

92 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this documentary3 months2025–2026 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Recommended as a good, accessible explanation of PFAS, its low safe limits and why regulation matters.

Veritasium investigates PFAS forever chemicals, from Teflon's history to pollution of the global water system and their presence in the US population. It covers the corporate cover-up and the host's own blood tests.

“If you want a good explanation of PFAs, Veritasium did a video on it.” (HN, 2025)

1 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · 5 citations · Documentaries

8 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@chiph May 2025 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Derek Muller confronts PFAS "forever chemicals" in his own blood
Read more
Based on his video, I have given up eating microwave popcorn and have gone back to stove-top made. If his numbers are to be believed (and I do), the coating on the inside of a microwave popcorn bag that is used to keep the cooking oils from soaking into the paper emit PFAS chemicals. Which leach into the popcorn oils - later to be consumed by you. In the chart comparing them with other coated papers such as fast food burger wrappers, they are far and away the leading source of PFAS. I still have questions - do the PFAS chemicals leach into the oils while sitting on the store shelf, or are they emitted when they get heated up in the microwave and exceed some temperature (like getting a Teflon pan too hot)? Not that this makes a difference in the end result, but I am curious. Video link: [this video]
Convinced commenter to give up microwave popcorn over PFAS in bags.
@starwatch Oct 2025 Recommends
on HN thread 3M May Escape Toxic Chemical, PFAS Manufacturing Legacy
If you want more context on PFAS, I recommend this Veritasium video [0]. It expanded on my usual thought of "PFAS = bad," explaining why non-stick cookware is probably fine while other forms of PFAS are problematic. The video also covers the environmental damage caused by PFAS manufacturing. [0]: [this video]
Nuances PFAS badness, non-stick cookware likely fine, covers manufacturing damage.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@aptj Jun 2025 Cites it
on HN thread Ask HN: How are parents who program teaching their kids today?
@all Don't forget to help your kids learn to communicate, cooperate, stand for the healthy life on this wonderful planet (our common habitat) and resist being fooled and bullied. > Veritasium: How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet [this video] Edits: minor typos.
Cited as a title in a general parenting message.
@alt227 Apr 2026 Cites it
on HN thread How to breathe in fewer microplastics in your home
Fully agree with you, however eating small bits of PFAS from pans seems to be pretty non toxic. Even in the recent Veritasium video about it they said that unless the chemical was heated to above ~300 degress C if will pass through the human digestive system without causing any harm. [this video]
Says PFAS from pans passes through digestion unless heated above 300 C.
@Joel_Mckay Jul 2026 Cites it
on HN thread GAO: DOE Is Prematurely Excluding Less Expensive Options for Nuclear Cleanup
Read more
The toxicology of soluble heavy-metal bioavailable material is a well understood area of research, and can bioaccumulate in humans several times higher than background if a food chain allows biomagnification of a contaminant. The publication assumes the reader has first year biology, and will understand test subject mortality data implications. I would recommend studying the story of Polychlorinated biphenyls in whales, Mercury levels in salmon, and PFAS in the Veritasium hosts blood. [this video] "Particle Accelerator vs Egg" is a great demonstration of purely irradiated cell decomposition, and is great entertainment for all ages. =3 [link]
Example of PFAS in the host's blood.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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