# Ep 207 Tear Gas: How can a chemical weapon be “humane”?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711/ep-207-tear-gas-how-can-a-chemical-weapon-be-humane
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711/ep-207-tear-gas-how-can-a-chemical-weapon-be-humane.md
Podcast: [This Podcast Will Kill You](https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711)
Published: 2026-04-14T07:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://omny.fm/shows/this-podcast-will-kill-you/ep-207-tear-gas-how-can-a-chemical-weapon-be-humane
Audio file: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/e0709a39-232b-4483-8e4f-b24c0111ae2c/0d05c7e1-b318-4409-adba-b41f012a18a1/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=64b4c224-562e-4b2f-9f31-b24c0111ae53
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Duration seconds: 4520

## Resource

Tear gas is an expected, normalized part of protests today. But its use in international war is banned. How can that be? That’s just one of the questions we investigate in this episode. First, we take you through the long history of tear gas and its emergence alongside deadlier chemical weapons before discussing how its use became routine, fueled by industry interests. Then we delve into what’s in tear gas that causes the painful physical reaction and consider whether claims of non-toxicity are backed up by research (spoilers: not really). This is an info-packed episode that will leave you with many questions answered, but not all of those answers will be satisfying. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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## Transcript

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