Reviews and Mentions of Pipe Dreams
Finalist for the 2022 NASW Science in Society Awards in the Books category
Longlisted for the 2022 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Young Adult Science Book category
“[A] deeply researched, entertaining and impassioned exploration of sanitation ancient and innovative.”—Nature
“Wald brings humor and curiosity to this history of the toilet and the ongoing environmental concerns surrounding it …A surprisingly lively read about the science and history of waste that will engage fans of Mary Roach and popular science.”—Library Journal
“There’s information here that will occasionally make you squirm, but it’ll also make you think twice before blithely using the sewer as a trash bin. So, thank your local sanitation worker... Consider a new toilet and read Pipe Dreams.”—Terri Schlichenmeyer
“Readers couldn’t ask for a more qualified guide to take them on a world tour of next-gen sewage schemes... [Wald’s] narration is frank and funny, and her sewage savvy allows her to weave in fascinating scientific and historic details...Pipe Dreams leaves readers knowing everything they ever wanted to know (and probably more) about toilets, perhaps inspiring them to start giving way more of a crap about crap.”—Science News
“A thoughtful and funny survey of ‘today’s toilet revolutionaries’… The green-minded will find this insightful and entertaining study to be a fresh angle on a perhaps underappreciated environmental concern.”—Publishers Weekly
“Toilet humor is one thing, but toilet fact, as digested by skilled science writer Wald, is quite another… [PIPE DREAMS is] lucid… A highly informative, well-reasoned call to rethink the throne.” —Kirkus
"That toilets affect us all is clear throughout Pipe Dreams. The book, nevertheless, defies expectation with its scope. Beyond technology, history, anthropology and science, Wald explores gender and other social issues. ... These developments are all part of a “loo-topia” Wald envisages for the future. In that perfect, still imaginary world, toilets would be “cool” and accessible to all. Surely we should be privy to that." —South China Morning Post
"Engagingly written, meticulously researched and referenced, Pipe Dreams — despite any misgivings you may have about its unavoidably fecal subject matter — is a rewarding and enlightening read." —Civil Engineering Magazine
Pipe Dreams is one of "21 anticipated books to start 2021" —Book Riot
"The central message of the Gates Foundation’s Reinvented Toilet program and Pipe Dreams is that we need to not only reinvent the toilet but to reimagine the whole sanitation system." —Stuart Coleman in Honolulu Civil Beat
Reading Pipe Dreams is "like being at a big toilet party with a friend introducing each person doing neat stuff with sanitation. ... There was never a dull moment." —Loo Book Club review on FlushWash.org
Pipe Dreams is New York Public Library's #BookOfTheDay newsletter pick. (July 25, 2021)
"Journaliste scientifique, l'Américaine Chelsea Wald propose un très éclairant panorama des situations et des enjeux. Passant, notamment, par l'archéologie et la bactériologie, elle rappelle l'histoire de ces installations particulières. Surtout, elle fait le point sur les problèmes et les solutions, en mettant l'accent sur les ingénieurs et entrepreneurs qui investissent en la matière." —Les Echos
"A prize-winning science writer, [Wald] writes with punning humour, precision and urgency about our waste as a site of social distancing and mammalian disgust, and how it is poisoning ecosystems around the globe, hogging resources, contributing to water shortages, overflowing storm drains, and piling up outside tent cities." —The Times Literary Supplement
Pipe Dreams is one of Science News' favorite books for 2021
Pipe Dreams is one of BuzzFeed's 25 Great Books You May Have Missed in 2021
"The book mixes historical information with the latest scientific data, and technological breakthroughs to provide a fascinating perspective into a problem that is quickly catching up to us." —Books Over Drinks
"When it comes to the toilet, most of us don’t give it much thought. We all use it, daily, yet hardly any of us talk about it. For some the topic is downright taboo, while for most it's just another everyday convenience that is taken for granted. Science journalist Chelsea Wald dives deep into the topic in Pipe Dreams, an informative, engaging, and humorous book, which provides the reader with ample food for thought concerning the topic of the porcelain throne." —The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Book Excerpts, Essays, and Q&As
ESSAY: NASW's Advance Copy Column (March 31, 2021)
INTERVIEW: The Future of the Toilet: A Q&A with Chelsea Wald by Matt Shipman on Science Communication Breakdown (April 6, 2021)
INTERVIEW: ‘Opening the lid’ on toilet innovation: Q&A with author Chelsea Wald by John C. Cannon on Mongabay (April 6, 2021)
INTERVIEW: Hey Poopy Podcast Ep. 114: Chelsea Wald (April 7, 2021)
ESSAY: A Donation from the Heart, and the Bladder by Chelsea Wald on The Last Word on Nothing (April 7, 2021)
LIVE AUDIO INTERVIEW: Rethinking Our Most Important Plumbing Appliance, The Jefferson Exchange, Jefferson Public Radio (April 7, 2021)
LIVE AUDIO INTERVIEW: The World Needs More Toilets, KERA's Think with Krys Boyd (April 12, 2021)
INTERVIEW AND EXCERPT: What Happened to America's Public Toilets, Marketplace (April 13, 2021)
EXCERPT: A Brief History of the Urban Sewer System, LitHub (April 15, 2021)
ESSAY: It's Time to Knock the Toilet Off Its Pedestal, Bloomberg CityLab (April 15, 2021)
ESSAY: The Pandemic Proved That Our Toilets Are Crap, Wired (April 18, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: The Toilet Revolution, Constant Wonder, BYU Radio (April 20, 2021)
INTERVIEW: Et si la pandémie avait prouvé qu’il était grand temps de sérieusement investir dans nos toilettes ?, Atlantico (April 26, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: PIPE DREAMS with Chelsea Wald, Get Flushed The Sanitation Podcast (April 30, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: The Focus, Radio Adelaide (Australia) (May 11, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW & PRINT REVIEW: Chelsea Wald, author of 'Pipe Dreams', talks toilets and a global sanitation revolution, South China Morning Post's Post Books Podcast (May 12, 2021)
LIVE AUDIO INTERVIEW: Transforming the Toilet, ABC Radio's Nightlife (Australia) (May 16-17, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: Dethroning our old toilets. A new book looks at the environmental revolution in toilet tech, CBC's Quirks and Quarks (May 21, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: Pipe Dreams, 99% Invisible (May 25, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: Flush with Excitement, Big Picture Science (June 14, 2021)
AUDIO INTERVIEW: Half The World Lacks Proper Sanitation. Is It Possible To 'Transform The Toilet'?, Fresh Air (June 30, 2021)
VIDEO: Want a better world? Stop treating toilets like crap., Mashable (August 26, 2021)
ESSAY: There’s One Surefire Way to End Big Sewage Spills: End Big Sewage, Undark (September 2, 2021)
EXCERPT: How Can You Contribute to the Toilet Revolution?, DefeatDD.org (November 10, 2021)
VIDEO: Why the Toilet Needs An Upgrade, WIRED (November 18, 2021)
PODCAST: FSMA Presents: World Toilet Day Special--Pipe Dreams Interview with Chelsea Wald and Laura Kallen (November 19, 2021)
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Books Over Drinks (February 22, 2022)
VIDEO INTERVIEW: "Pipe" Dreams--Race to Transform Toilets, The Creative Life on ThinkTech Hawaii (April 27, 2022)
Other Media Appearances
PODCAST: Our No. 2 Problem, Vox's Today, Explained (July 21, 2021)
ONLINE: Students Are Getting Paid to Poop at a South Korean University, Atlas Obscura (July 23, 2021)
TELEVISION: 'Used' drinking water in the Jacksonville pipeline after push from the Governor and legislature, First Coast News (August 9, 2021)
RADIO: Refrigerators vs. Toilets, Smash Boom Best (September 2, 2021)
PODCAST: The Futures Archive S1E6: The Toilet (November 17, 2021)
PODCAST: The Problems of Pee, Nature Podcast (February 9, 2022)
ONLINE: Transform Your Bathroom with High-Tech Gadgets, Wall Street Journal (March 20, 2022)
VIDEO: Why the U.S. is Failing at Public Bathrooms, Eat This with Jara on AJ+ (August 22, 2022)
Events & Talks
Tue, April 13, 2021 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Eastern Time
Virtual Event: In conversation with Peter Boyd of Sustainable Westport (watch recording)
The Westport Library
Westport, Connecticut
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 @ 5:00-6:00 pm Eastern Time
Virtual Event: Living Health: Author Q & A Series, led by Maryn McKenna (watch recording)
Emory University Virtual Author Series
Atlanta, GA
Friday, June 1, 2021
Virtual Event: Q&A in conversation with Claire Furlong
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Virtual Event: Pipe Dreams: How a Journalist Fell Into the Toilet and What She Found There (watch recording)
Eawag/Sandec Seminar Series
Friday, August 20, 2021 @ 2:00-3:00pm Eastern Time
Virtual Event: The Scientist Book Club (register to watch)
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Virtual Presentation: PMI Manufacturing Success Conference (writeup; recording available to members)
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 @ 12pm Eastern Time
Virtual Presentation: Pipe Dream to Mainstream: Reporting the Urine Revolution
Rich Earth Summit (register to attend)