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)

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Ep 162 Allergies Part 2: Shots, pills, & pens

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Ep 161 Allergies Part 1: Pollens, nuts, & bugs

Ep 161 Allergies Part 1: Pollens, nuts, & bugs

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7 Tammi 20251h 24min

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Ep 160 Appendicitis: Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone?

Ep 160 Appendicitis: Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone?

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Ep 159 Scabies: Tiny but Mite-y

Ep 159 Scabies: Tiny but Mite-y

Among the many conditions that creep under your skin and make scratching irresistible, scabies alone holds the honor of being called simply “The Itch” for centuries. In this episode, we examine how th...

3 Joulu 20241h 7min

Ep 158 Scarlet Fever: You’ve changed

Ep 158 Scarlet Fever: You’ve changed

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26 Marras 20241h 10min

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19 Marras 202453min

Ep 157 Retinoids Part 2: …how it’s going

Ep 157 Retinoids Part 2: …how it’s going

That same little bottle of retinol serum sitting on your bathroom counter - how does it work? Does it actually work? Those are the questions we’re taking on in part two of our retinoids two-parter. Th...

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