Headache symptoms can strike sufferers without warning, disabling them for even days at a time.

There have been nearly 4,000 years of documented headache disorders — and virtually everyone has had headaches — yet their underlying neurological cause is still unknown.

This hour, a look at the long history of headaches and the current science around and treatments for headaches. Plus: headaches in our literature and popular culture.

GUESTS:
Kathleen O’Shea: The editor of So Much More Than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature
Tom Zeller Jr.: The author of The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Condition and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Undark

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Headache symptoms can strike sufferers without warning, disabling them for even days at a time.
There have been nearly 4,000 years of documented headache disorders &mdash; and virtually everyone has had headaches &mdash; yet their underlying neurological cause is still unknown.
This hour, a look at the long history of headaches and the current science around and treatments for headaches. Plus: headaches in our literature and popular culture.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Kathleen O&rsquo;Shea: The editor of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2019/more-than-headach/" data-cms-ai="0">So Much More Than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature</a></li>
<li>Tom Zeller Jr.: The author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-headache-tom-zeller-jr" data-cms-ai="0">The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Condition</a>&nbsp;and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of&nbsp;<a href="https://undark.org/" data-cms-ai="0">Undark</a></li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884" data-cms-ai="0">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p" data-cms-ai="0">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show" data-cms-ai="0">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/" data-cms-ai="0">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/" data-cms-ai="0">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters" data-cms-ai="0">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow" data-cms-ai="0">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow" data-cms-ai="0">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.