This Podcast Will Kill You

Burns have been a part of the human experience since our hominin relatives began controlling fire 1.5 million years ago. Until very recently, we’ve been limited in our ability to manage burn wounds with any success, having instead to rely on our body’s innate healing responses. In this episode, we delve into those repair responses, explore what makes burns different from other types of injuries, and examine how we categorize burns based on severity. On the history side of things, we take a tour through humanity’s quest to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by the near-universal experience of getting burned. Ever wondered what Hippocrates would have recommended for a burn? Or what distinguishes a second- from third-degree burn? Tune in to find out. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It comes on sneakily. You become aware of your stomach. You break out in a cold sweat. Your mouth fills with saliva. And before you know it, you’re leaning over the side of the boat (or out of the car, or into the airplane sick bag), barfing up your breakfast. Motion sickness. We’ve all been there, or at least most of us have. Why? What is it about our physiology that breaks down as soon as we travel via water, vehicle, or air? That’s exactly what we’re going to explore in this episode. From how long humans (and other species) have been coping with these debilitating symptoms to what’s actually going on in your brain to trigger the breakdown, from what’s in the most nauseating historical “cures” for motion sickness to why the drugs we have today have some positive effect, we’re covering it all. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a time when smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, and typhus ran rampant through the streets of London, there was another disease that instilled even more fear than these other killers: syphilis. So feared and so stigmatized was syphilis that it was sometimes called “the secret disease.” A diagnosis would not only sentence you to a drawn-out and painful illness possibly resulting in death, it also labeled you as an outcast and not fit for polite company. Skyrocketing infection rates drove a corresponding rise in syphilis “cures” and an increasingly desperate public. In this TPWKY book club episode, Dr. Olivia Weisser, associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston joins me to discuss her recent book The Dreaded Pox: Sex and Disease in Early Modern London. She transports readers to the hidden shops and stalls that promised a remedy to this feared disease, to the courthouses where a syphilis infection was an important piece of evidence, and to the country houses that held recipe books for those who could not purchase a cure. Tune in for a fascinating glimpse into a time and place where morality, sex, and disease were so strongly entangled. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For much of the world, refrigeration is such a commonplace technology that we rarely stop to wonder at the many ways it has transformed our lives. From the foods we grow to where we grow them, from how they taste to what we eat, refrigeration has dramatically - and quite recently - changed our relationship to food, our health, and the environment. As Nicola Twilley describes in Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves, progress, as it so often does, comes at a cost. Twilley, who also cohosts the award-winning food podcast Gastropod, joins us in this week’s TPWKY book club episode to discuss the surprising history and tenuous future of refrigeration. You’ll never look at your fridge the same way again. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sleep is a universal experience. It’s not just the lion that sleeps tonight - it’s also the butterfly, the chicken, the jellyfish, the dog, the snake, the worm, and of course the human. What is this widespread physiological process whose spell we are all under? What purpose (or purposes) does it serve? Why do we sleep the way we do? These are just some of the questions we’re going to get into in this week’s episode, the first half of our two-parter on sleep. We break down the different components of sleep in humans before diving deep into how animals sleep and what drives the different patterns we see. Night owl or daybird? Light sleeper or deep slumberer? Frequent naps or one big chunk? One eye open or both eyes closed? Tune in as we unravel some of the mysteries of sleep. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah, the new year. After the last month and a half of indulgent food and drink, disrupted schedules, and laying around the house, who doesn’t feel like they’re in need of a whole-body cleanse? There are plenty of companies who are more than happy to provide that product or service that promises to flush away toxins from your skin, gut, blood, brain, you name it. But what exactly are they selling you? In this episode, we explore the deep roots of the ever-expanding detox industry and the concept behind its billions of dollars in revenue: detoxification. What does detoxification even mean? Is there any truth to the claims that a certain diet or superfood or supplement or colonic or drink or enema or chelation therapy can “detoxify” you? Tune in to find out how many synonyms for scam we can come up with. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode originally aired on January 25th, 2022. In light of the recent changes by RFK jr’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to eliminate the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in the US, a decision which will result in preventable infections and deaths in this country every year, it seems timely to remind everyone of the global consequences of this incredibly prevalent pathogen. This week, we’re dipping a toe back into the vast waters of hepatitis viruses, this time with a focus on hepatitis B. The hepatitis B virus, though second to be named, was first to be discovered, and effective vaccines and treatments have been available for decades. Yet the global prevalence of this virus remains staggering, with nearly 300 million people chronically infected and 1.5 million new infections annually. So what’s going on? In this episode, we weave our way through the complicated biology of this virus and its deadly potential, the strange history of its identification that shows that you don't have to be looking for something to find it, and the current status of this virus that underlines how safe, effective tools for disease prevention are only as good as our delivery infrastructure. We are also so excited to be joined by Dr. Su Wang, Medical Director for the Center for Asian Health & Viral Hepatitis Programs at the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center and outgoing President of the World Hepatitis Alliance. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.