Special Episode: Dan Egan & The Devil’s Element

Special Episode: Dan Egan & The Devil’s Element

Phosphorus is an element that wears many faces. Its overuse as a fertilizer has polluted freshwater ecosystems, transforming rivers and lakes from thriving communities to lethal zones devoid of life. Its role as an explosive has brought fiery death and suffering to many during times of war. And its dwindling global supply poses an existential threat to humanity. Because phosphorus is not just a destructive force - it is essential for all of life on this planet. In The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance, author Dan Egan explores the multi-faceted nature of phosphorus and the surprising ways this element has shaped our world. Egan, Journalist in Residence at the Center for Water Policy in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences, transports readers from the guano-covered islands off the coast of Peru to the fertile fields of the American Midwest, from the 17th century laboratories reeking of boiled urine to our tenuous future as the demand for this element outpaces its supply. Tune in to learn about this powerful yet underappreciated element.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Ep 9 Tuberculosis: A Slow Burn

Ep 9 Tuberculosis: A Slow Burn

Today, we’re taking a page straight out of Dickens and talking about tuberculosis- a disease as rich in history as it is in bloody sputum. We'll travel the path of an individual Mycobacterium tubercul...

2 Jan 201859min

Ep 8 ABRACADABRA - Go Away Malaria!

Ep 8 ABRACADABRA - Go Away Malaria!

It's both a disease of dinosaurs and a plague of people. A gin and tonic might make you forget how much those bites itch, but it won't protect you much from this mosquito-borne monster. That's right p...

19 Dec 201759min

Ep 7 Hit Me With Your Best (Polio) Shot

Ep 7 Hit Me With Your Best (Polio) Shot

A scientific rivalry for the ages, a president with a closely kept secret, and a summertime with no pool time. What do all these things have in common? Well step right up and take a listen- today we'r...

12 Dec 20171h 1min

Ep 6 Plague Part 2: TGFA

Ep 6 Plague Part 2: TGFA

We're back with another episode all about plague-TGFA: Thank Goodness For Antibiotics! Today we'll focus on the status of plague in the modern world: where it is, where it isn't, and what we can do ab...

5 Dec 201740min

Ep 5 Plague Part 1: The GMOAT

Ep 5 Plague Part 1: The GMOAT

That's right y'all... Today we're talking the GMOAT: The GREATEST MORTALITY OF ALL TIME: BLACK DEATH. This episode we'll cover the biology and history of one of the most epic diseases of all time- Yer...

28 Nov 201759min

Ep 4 The Poop Show

Ep 4 The Poop Show

That's right.. this is the poop show! Today we talk cholera- the bacterial disease that makes you liquid-poop your pants (and then some). Travel back in time with us to when London was a sewage-filled...

21 Nov 201749min

Ep 3 Gnarlypox

Ep 3 Gnarlypox

This week we pay tribute to one of the gnarliest diseases of all time, and the only human disease that's ever been eradicated (thus far). That's right, people- we're talking smallpox! It's gonna get g...

14 Nov 201757min

Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race

Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race

This week we tackle leprosy. That biblical (or is it?) infection that, believe it or not, is still with us today. Leprosy has an ancient history that exemplifies some of the worst of human behavior, a...

7 Nov 201754min

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