Ep 61 Typhoid: There's Something About Mary

Ep 61 Typhoid: There's Something About Mary

Your long wait is finally over - the season four premiere of This Podcast Will Kill You has arrived! And to mark the special occasion, we’re taking on a topic that is both classic TPWKY material as well as enormously relevant to current discussions in public health. Typhoid fever has been the cause of untold death and devastation throughout human history, and despite our advancements in both treatment and prevention of the disease, it continues to wreak havoc on millions of people around the world every year. This week, we take a trip through the terror of typhoid, starting by tracing the journey this bacterium makes through your body before taking a look at the long history of typhoid in human populations. And what story of typhoid would be complete without Typhoid Mary? We examine the plight of Mary Mallon in the context of today’s COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the tension that often arises between individual and community rights in matters of public health. Finally, we wrap things up with a look at the current status of typhoid fever around the world (spoilers: it’s pretty terrible) as well as some promising developments on the horizon (spoilers: okay, it might not all be bad!).

We are so excited to be back with you this season, coming through your headphones with some casual chat about diseases throughout human history! As always, we are happy to hear from you about what you’d like us to cover, so send any suggestions through our website contact form. For your TPWKY merch needs, check out the sweet offerings on our shop's page. And for extra reading, you can find references for each episode on the episode page or check out our bookshop.org affiliate page or our Goodreads list.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(281)

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

Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation

Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation

As we learned last week, starvation extends far beyond hunger and what a lack of food does to the human body. Similarly, famine is much more than a food shortage and starvation on a population-level s...

21 Loka 20251h 10min

Ep 190 Starvation: More than hunger

Ep 190 Starvation: More than hunger

Deprived of food, our bodies do the best they can to keep us alive and functioning as long as possible. As the days pass, the rhythms of our lives change: our metabolism, our heartbeats, our hormones,...

14 Loka 20251h 4min

Special Episode: Antonia Hylton & Madness

Special Episode: Antonia Hylton & Madness

The United States is in the midst of a monumental mental health crisis, with one in four people predicted to experience mental illness at some point in their lives. Adequate mental health care remains...

7 Loka 202556min

Ep 189 Newborn screening: The future is here

Ep 189 Newborn screening: The future is here

Every year, millions of babies around the world are screened for dozens of treatable conditions within the first day or two of life. What it takes is a few drops of blood on some filter paper, and wha...

30 Syys 20251h 18min

Ep 188 Candida yeast: Here, there, and everywhere

Ep 188 Candida yeast: Here, there, and everywhere

None of us are ever truly alone. Our bodies are home to untold numbers of microbes, chilling on our skin, in our guts, throughout our respiratory tract, inside our bellybuttons, under our fingernails,...

23 Syys 20251h 17min

Special Episode: Mary Roach & Replaceable You

Special Episode: Mary Roach & Replaceable You

When your car breaks down or your fridge goes on the fritz, you can order a replacement part and get things back up and running in no time. The same cannot always be said for another intricate machine...

16 Syys 202548min

Ep 187 Hypothermia Part 2: How it helps

Ep 187 Hypothermia Part 2: How it helps

Last week, we took you through all the ways that cold can harm us and the harrowing history of humans perishing at its icy hands. Ending the story there would be skipping over the parts where cold get...

9 Syys 20251h 5min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-poliisin-mieli
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-kasvatuspsykologiaa-kaikille
rss-kasvikutsut
utelias-mieli
docemilia
vinkista-vihia
mielipaivakirja
radio-antro
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast