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.

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Ep 200 Poop Part 1: How the sausage gets made

Ep 200 Poop Part 1: How the sausage gets made

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3 Feb 1h

Ep 199 Sleep Part 2: Predictably unpredictable

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27 Jan 1h 10min

Ep 198 Sleep Part 1: Sleeping with one eye open

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20 Jan 1h 14min

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The widespread use of leaded gasoline in the 20th century led to one of the world’s biggest public health and environmental disasters, the effects of which are still present today. Since its developme...

13 Jan 57min

Ep 197 Detox: Enemas for everyone

Ep 197 Detox: Enemas for everyone

Ah, the new year. After the last month and a half of indulgent food and drink, disrupted schedules, and laying around the house, who doesn’t feel like they’re in need of a whole-body cleanse? There ar...

6 Jan 1h 16min

From the Vault - Endometriosis: Menstrual Backwash (Ep 88)

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This episode originally aired on January 11th, 2022. Chances are you know someone with endometriosis, or perhaps you’re affected yourself. But despite its incredibly high prevalence, endo remains almo...

30 Dec 20252h 11min

From the Vault - Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2 (Ep 89)

From the Vault - Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2 (Ep 89)

This episode originally aired on January 25th, 2022. In light of the recent changes by RFK jr’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to eliminate the universal birth dose of the hepatit...

23 Dec 20251h 30min

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