Imagine opening your work calendar one morning and finding a meeting simply gone — deleted. And the meeting that vanished was about the safety of the water millions of people drink.

That’s what happened to Elin Warn Betanzo— a Michigan drinking water engineer, and one of the people who helped uncover the Flint water crisis.

More recently, she sat on a small federal panel that advises the government on drinking water. Then she signed her name to a public letter, alongside hundreds of other current and former employees, warning that the Environmental Protection Agency was walking away from its mission to protect the public. Two days later, the agency suspended her from that panel.

Now she’s suing to get her seat back. And her case raises a bigger question — one that reaches all the way to your kitchen sink: what happens to the rest of us when the government tells its own scientists to stay quiet?

Betanzo joined host Robyn Vincent on The Metro to talk about Flint, the lawsuit, and what’s at stake for anyone who drinks from a tap.

The Metro contacted the EPA, which said it does not comment on pending litigation. When the agency placed the dissent-letter signatories on leave last year, it said it has a “zero-tolerance policy”  for employees it accuses of “undermining, sabotaging and undercutting” the administration’s agenda.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro

In town halls and public squares across Michigan, people are debating whether data centers should be part of their neighborhoods.

Some communities have hit pause on data center development — the massive server farms that power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

The concerns are straightforward: these facilities can consume as much electricity as a large city. They often use millions of gallons of water a day, and critics say they deliver few permanent jobs for the enormous tax breaks they receive.

Now Detroit has entered the fray.

Last month, Detroit City Could voted 6-2 to ask Mayor Mary Sheffield to impose a two-year freeze on all new data center permits.

Detroit City Council Member Scott Benson is leading that effort. He has convened a working group of city planners, utility officials and environmental advocates with a December 31 deadline to develop zoning rules for data centers.

Benson joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss why he is pushing for a two-year pause and what Detroit needs to get right before data centers arrive.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro