For life on this planet, iron is not optional. It is essential. When our iron levels are low, we can get sick, and when they get really really low, we can even die. But you know what they say, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. In the case of iron, the genetic condition hemochromatosis is often to blame for iron overload, but why is too much iron a bad thing? In this episode, we explore that question and many others, starting with why iron is a biological non-negotiable and how a...

Phosphorus is an element that wears many faces. Its overuse as a fertilizer has polluted freshwater ecosystems, transforming rivers and lakes from thriving communities to lethal zones devoid of life. Its role as an explosive has brought fiery death and suffering to many during times of war. And its dwindling global supply poses an existential threat to humanity. Because phosphorus is not just a destructive force - it is essential for all of life on this planet. In The Devil’s Element:...

The stethoscope. It’s iconic. You’re playing Pictionary and you pull the “doctor” card? Easy - sketch a stethoscope. Need a last-minute Halloween costume? Easy - throw a stethoscope around your shoulders. Google image search “doctor” and you can count the number of stethoscope-less doctors on one hand. How did this instrument become so emblematic of the field of medicine? What can it tell us about our heart and lungs? And is its future under threat? That’s where this episode comes in. We...

“Is it gonna be poop or is it gonna be barf?” It’s the question we all fear during a bout of food poisoning when time is of the essence and a decision has to be made before it’s made for us. Often, the germ forcing this question upon us is none other than the dreaded norovirus. First called “winter vomiting disease” for reasons obvious to anyone who has been unfortunate enough to become infected, norovirus now conjures up images of puking passengers aboard cruise ships or oysters on the half...

In the pre-antibiotic era, tuberculosis was one of the biggest killers humanity ever faced. The specter of the ‘great white plague’ hung over towns and cities across the world, cities like New York whose population boom in the early 20th century paved the way for this deadly disease to spread throughout crowded tenements. As tuberculosis rates in NYC reached a breaking point, city officials sought to solve the problem by establishing a sanatorium on Staten Island. But they quickly ran into an...

In last week’s episode/love song to poison control centers, we journeyed through the history of these centers, from idea to institution. This week, we pick up where we left off by taking stock of the incredible impact that poison control centers have had on public health and individual lives. We also get a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at the operational side of things - who is on the other end of the line when you call poison control? How do they know so much and where do they get their...

If you’ve ever called poison control, you probably already have a deep appreciation for the voice on the other end of the line who provides solid answers, emanates calm, and empowers you to take whatever steps necessary to be safe and healthy. If you haven’t, this episode will turn you into a superfan anyway. How did this incredibly valuable yet often overlooked service come to be, and why did it arise when it did? In the first of what ends up being a two-part ode to poison control centers,...

Roads are essential to our modern lives, so much so that they largely exist in the background of our minds. When we do think of roads, we’re either complaining about traffic or celebrating them for enabling our restless need to explore. Can you imagine if all of the world’s 40 million miles of roads were suddenly erased? Chaos for humanity. But a boon perhaps to natural ecosystems. In Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, author Ben Goldfarb takes readers on a...

Think of an infectious disease. What comes to mind? A viral infection like influenza? Or a bacterial illness like cholera? Maybe some of you thought of a fungal pathogen or a parasite. But how many of you thought of a cancer? In this episode, we explore the bizarre, stranger than fiction story of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a transmissible cancer that has devastated Tasmanian devil populations over the past few decades. And when we say transmissible cancer, we don’t mean a cancer...

CW: discussion of disordered eating, eating disorders Did the word gluten manifest in everyone’s consciousness one day in 2010? Suddenly, grocery stores were filled with gluten-free crackers, cookies, buns, you name it. Everyone went on gluten-free diets or knew someone with a gluten intolerance or sensitivity. For some, it might seem that gluten-related disorders went from 0 to 60 overnight, but those who had lived with these illnesses for decades knew better. In this episode, we delve into...

Going to the doctor is probably not at the top of anyone’s list of enjoyable activities, but when we do go, we expect and deserve to be heard, to have our concerns listened to and our questions answered. However, most, if not all, of us have at some point felt unheard, dismissed, or even gaslit by our healthcare provider. What is it about the doctor-patient relationship or the way medicine is practiced today that enables this miscommunication or mistreatment, and how can we make things...

CW: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss, body-shaming The third and final installment of our series on IVF surveys the current and potential future landscape of this powerful technology. We first trace the growth of the IVF industry in the US since its inception in the early 1980s up to today before then giving an overview of some of the regulatory and ethical considerations facing this field on a global scale. Alongside these challenges of access and regulation are the incredible...

CW: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss, suicide In the second part of our three-part series on IVF, we’re picking up where we left off last week. From the historical side of things, that means investigating how the revolutionary technology of IVF was developed over the decades of the 20th century leading to the first “test tube babies” born in 1978, and how the field of IVF transformed from uncertain technology to burgeoning industry. From the medical side of things, that means exploring...

Content Warning: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss We’re coming at you with not one, not two, but THREE whole episodes on IVF (in vitro fertilization) and other forms of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) over the next several weeks. Our first episode in this series starts things off with a broad examination of infertility over space and time. We take a closer look at headlines claiming infertility is on the rise, leading us to ask how we assess and measure infertility and whether...

The word “poison” is much more subjective than it may first appear. It’s likely you’ve come across the phrase, “the dose makes the poison”, referring to some compounds that are beneficial in small amounts but deadly in others - such as digitalis. And then there’s the intended recipient of the “poison”; a poison to one animal might be a boon to another, like milkweeds and monarch butterflies. Our own relationships to poisons can be unpredictable. Attracted, addicted, healed, repelled, harmed,...

Did our episode on maggots leave you wanting more squirmy wormy yet oh so cool content? You’re in luck. Because this week, we’re following up our maggots episode with a companion piece on leeches. Leeches have been used by healers and physicians for millennia, and they’ve come back into style for treatments today, for very good reason. If you’ve ever wondered what makes leech saliva so magical, why barber poles are striped with red and white ribbons, or how leeches behave as parents, then...

The COVID-19 pandemic started with a bang - lockdowns, grocery store shelves cleared of their goods, toilet paper shortages, and a pervasive sense of panic. But more recently, it has slowly faded into the background for many of us. The WHO says that while we’re no longer in crisis mode, we are still in a pandemic. What does that mean for us in our daily lives? In this TPWKY book club episode, we’re joined by Dr. Paul Offit to discuss his recent book Tell Me When It’s Over: An Insider’s Guide...

Just reading the title of this episode may have been enough to make you feel grossed out and creepy crawly. And now we’re asking you to listen to a whole episode about maggots? But trust us, it’s worth the journey. Because these little creatures have a hidden depth to them that will surprise, delight, and, we would venture to say, inspire. In this episode, we explore the many ways that maggots have been used by medicine over the centuries up to the present day and the properties they possess...

What does it take to make the WHO’s list of high priority pathogens of pandemic potential? Ask Nipah virus. Extremely deadly with a wide host range and no effective treatments or vaccine (yet), Nipah virus has certainly earned its place on this list. In this episode, we explore where this virus came from, how it can make us so very sick, and the 1998 outbreak in peninsular Malaysia that put Nipah virus on the map. But we don’t stop there! We bring on expert guest, Dr. Clifton McKee, research...

We live on the edge. Whether we fail to acknowledge it or try not to think of it, that fact remains true for most of us. A chemical shift, a rogue protein, a marauding molecule - our brains are vulnerable to an array of attacks that could dramatically alter our connection with the world and ourselves. In this episode of the TPWKY book club, Dr. Sara Manning Peskin, MD, MS, assistant professor of clinical neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and author, joins us to discuss her book A...

Does it seem like the supplement section of your grocery store gets bigger every time you go in? Or that all television commercials these days seem to be advertising dietary supplements that promise to improve your concentration, help you lose weight, make you happier, healthier, smarter, stronger, cooler, poop better or some mix of those? You’re not imagining things. The explosion of the US dietary supplement industry over the past few years is very real, and when you’re inundated with ads...

A dull pounding headache. Body aches that come and go. Chills that set your teeth to chattering and have you reaching for the fluffiest blankets to warm up. But the thing is, you’re already warm, hot even. At least according to the thermometer. That’s right, you’ve got a fever. Throughout the years of making this podcast, we’ve begun many a disease description with “it started with a fever” but we haven’t ever explored what that really means in depth until this episode. We take you through...

The TPWKY book club is back in action, and we’re thrilled to be starting this season’s reading journey with Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens, reproductive rights advocate, Associate Professor in the University of Connecticut history department, and award-winning author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. The history of science and medicine often focuses on the achievements of wealthy, white male physicians and researchers whose names are etched on medical school...

In many ways, this week’s episode on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a companion piece to last week’s episode on Long Covid. The two share many similarities: a wide range of debilitating symptoms lingering long after infection, an illness which can transform from day to day or week to week, dismissal and downplaying by the medical community, a big question mark under “pathophysiological cause”, and so many others. These parallels can tell us a great deal about...

We’re back with our season 7 premiere, and we’re kicking things off with a topic that we’ve wanted to cover for a long time, even if the topic itself hasn’t been around all that long. That’s right, we’re taking on Long Covid. When SARS-CoV-2 began making its way around the world in 2020, it was thought to cause a mild illness in most people, with complete recovery a couple of weeks after first getting infected. But just a short time into the pandemic, people began to report debilitating...