Special Episode: David Quammen & Breathless

Special Episode: David Quammen & Breathless

What do you get when you combine a love of reading with an interest in biology/public health/medical history and a background in podcasting? The TPWKY book club, of course! This season’s miniseries of bonus episodes features interviews with authors of popular science books, covering topics ranging from why sweat matters to the history of food safety, from the menstrual cycle to the persistence of race science and so much more. So dust off that library card, crack open that e-reader, fire up those earbuds, do whatever it takes to get yourself ready for the nerdiest book club yet.


We’re starting off this book club strong with a discussion of Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus, the latest book by award-winning science writer David Quammen (@DavidQuammen). Breathless recounts the fascinating - and sometimes frightening - story of how scientists sought to uncover the secrets of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. In this interview, Quammen, whose 2012 book Spillover explores the increasing pathogen exchange occurring among humans, wildlife, and domestic animals, shares with us how he decided to write Breathless and why this story of discovery needs to be told. Our conversation takes us into musings over why we saw this pandemic coming yet could not keep it from happening, the controversy over the origins of SARS-CoV-2, and the question of whether future pandemics are preventable or inevitable. Through this discussion, we find that the global response to future pandemics depends just as much on locating the gaps in our knowledge about this virus as it does on applying what we have learned so far. Tune in for all this and more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(280)

Ep 196 Health Myths: Fact or fiction?

Ep 196 Health Myths: Fact or fiction?

Did your grandma ever warn you against going out in the cold with wet hair because “you’ll catch your death”? Or have you ever tossed a few more carrots into your shopping basket in the hope that they...

16 Joulu 20251h 6min

Special Episode: Dr. Homer Venters & Outbreak Behind Bars

Special Episode: Dr. Homer Venters & Outbreak Behind Bars

[Content warning: self-harm, suicide, violence] In this day and age, we are equipped with an abundance of tools and knowledge to fight the spread of disease. Yet what good does that toolkit do if we l...

9 Joulu 202555min

Ep 195 Salt Part 2: The Substance

Ep 195 Salt Part 2: The Substance

We ended last week’s episode on a bit of a cliffhanger: is salt actually bad for us and if so, why does there still seem to be a debate? This week’s episode holds all the answers. We’re sifting throug...

2 Joulu 202553min

Ep 194 Salt Part 1: The Seasoning

Ep 194 Salt Part 1: The Seasoning

Have you ever thrown a pinch of spilled salt over your left shoulder? Or said to someone “well, take his opinion with a grain of salt”? Or looked up the potential salary of a job listing? Salt is so d...

25 Marras 202555min

Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive

Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive

In an anatomy and physiology class, you may learn how the different heart valves work to circulate your blood, how the structure of your kidney helps to maintain electrolyte levels, and how the expans...

18 Marras 202549min

Ep 193 Necrotizing Fasciitis: A strange beast

Ep 193 Necrotizing Fasciitis: A strange beast

If you were asked to describe necrotizing fasciitis in three words, you might choose: rapid, deadly, and rare. The third of those adjectives may provide some comfort, but the first two are the clear i...

11 Marras 20251h 7min

Ep 192 New World Screwworm: Oh-oh here they come

Ep 192 New World Screwworm: Oh-oh here they come

It’s the stuff nightmares are made of. A fly lands on an open wound and lays hundreds of eggs, from which hatch countless ravenous maggots. There they writhe, devouring flesh, insatiable and relentles...

4 Marras 20251h 10min

Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends!

Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends!

Science doesn’t always get it right the first time (or the second, or the third, or even the ninety-ninth!). And while we may chuckle at the outlandish things people believed or the goofy experiments ...

28 Loka 202554min

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