
Lead (Poisoning), Laugh, Love with Shannon Burkett
About this episode
Shannon Burkett has lived about six lives. Broadway actor. SNL alum. Nurse. Filmmaker. Advocate. Cancer survivor. And the kind of person who makes you question what you’ve done with your day. She wrote and produced My Vagina—the stop-motion musical kind, not the cry-for-help kind—and built a global movement after her son was poisoned by lead dust in their New York apartment.
Out of that came LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us, a documentary born from rage, science, and maternal defiance. We talked about everything from The Goonies to Patrick Stewart to the quiet rage of parenting in a country that treats public health like a hobby.
This episode is about art, anger, resilience, and what happens when an unstoppable theater nerd turned science geek Jersey girl collides with an immovable healthcare system.
RELATED LINKS
- Shannon Burkett Official Site
- LEAD: How This Story Ends Is Up to Us
- End Lead Poisoning
- LinkedIn: Shannon Burkett
- BroadwayWorld Profile
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