There is a new type of hearing loss that is hitting people of all ages and scientists are still trying to find out why. It is called hidden hearing loss and is not characterized by the traditional view of loss of hearing that the organ just gets less adept at detecting sound, instead you can still hear fine, but the brain doesn’t process the sounds clearly enough. Corinne Iozzio, executive editor at PopSci, joins us for what to know about hidden hearing loss.

Next, a surge of new plastic could be on its way to the planet. 2020 will be a consequential year for plastic as the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are pouring billions of dollars into opening new plants with the purpose of making tons of new plastic. For example, Shell will soon be opening a new ethane cracking plant that is expected to produce up to 1.6 million tons of plastic annually. Beth Gardiner, contributor to Yale Environment 360 joins us for more.

Finally, Scott McCartney, Middle Seat columnist for the WSJ, joins us for his annual rankings of the best and worst airlines. Using criteria such as on-time arrivals, flight cancellations and more, the list is a measure of the efficiencies and dependability of the airlines. For the third year in a row, Delta has come out on top. At the bottom of the list this year is American Airlines. Scott helps break it all down.

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