Revenge of the Miasma
Radiolab28 Helmi 2025

Revenge of the Miasma

Today we uncover an invisible killer hidden, for over a hundred years, by reasonable disbelief. Science journalist extraordinaire Carl Zimmer tells us the story of a centuries-long battle of ideas that came to a head, with tragic consequences, in the very recent past. His latest book, called Airborne, details a largely forgotten history of science that never quite managed to get off the ground. Along the way, Carl helps us understand how we can fail, over and over again, to see a truth right in front of our faces. And how we finally came around thanks to scientific evidence hidden inside a song.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Carl Zimmer
Produced by - Sarah Qari
with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Natalie Middleton

EPISODE CITATIONS:
Books - Check out Carl Zimmer’s new book, Airborne (https://zpr.io/Q5bdYrubcwE4).

Articles - Read about the study on the Skagit Valley Chorale COVID superspreading event (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32979298/).

Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.
Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(652)

You and Me and Mr. Self-Esteem

You and Me and Mr. Self-Esteem

Most of us spend some part of our lives feeling bad about ourselves and wanting to feel better. But this preoccupation is a surprisingly new one in the history of the world, and can largely be traced ...

23 Tammi 1h 17min

The Punchline

The Punchline

This episode, first aired in 2019, brings you the story of John Scott, the professional hockey player that every fan loved to hate.  A tough guy. A brawler. A goon. But when an impish pundit named Puc...

16 Tammi 50min

Brain Balls

Brain Balls

When neuroscientist Madeline Lancaster was a brand new postdoc, she accidentally used an expired protein gel in a lab experiment and noticed something weird. The stem cells she was trying to grow in a...

9 Tammi 41min

Moon Trees

Moon Trees

In 1971, a red-headed, tree-loving astronaut named Stu ‘Smokey’ Roosa was asked to take something to the moon with him. Of all things, he chose to take a canister of 500 tree seeds. After orbiting the...

2 Tammi 35min

Fertility Cliff

Fertility Cliff

As she -- and her friends — approached the age of 35, senior correspondent Molly Webster kept hearing a phrase over and over: “fertility cliff.” It was a short-hand term to describe what she was told ...

26 Joulu 202526min

The Good Show

The Good Show

The standard view of evolution is that living things are shaped by cold-hearted competition. And there is no doubt that today's plants and animals carry the genetic legacy of ancestors who fought fier...

19 Joulu 20251h 2min

The Alien in the Room

The Alien in the Room

It’s faster than a speeding bullet. It’s smarter than a polymath genius. It’s everywhere but it’s invisible. It’s artificial intelligence. But what actually is it?Today we ask this simple question and...

12 Joulu 20251h

Shell Game: Minimum Viable Company

Shell Game: Minimum Viable Company

A year ago we brought you a show called Shell Game where a journalist named Evan Ratliff made an AI copy of himself. Now on season 2 of the show, Evan’s using AI to do more than just mimic himself — h...

5 Joulu 202539min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

tiedekulma-podcast
rss-poliisin-mieli
docemilia
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
sotataidon-ytimessa
radio-antro
menologeja-tutkimusmatka-vaihdevuosiin
rss-bios-podcast
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-metsantuntijat-podcast
rss-luontopodi-samuel-glassar-tutkii-luonnon-ihmeita