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, and its present day status may surprise you.
      

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, and its present day status may surprise you.

This podcast might not actually kill you, but Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke cover so many things that can. In each episode, they tackle a different topic, teaching listeners about the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery. They do the scientific research, so you don’t have to.
 
Since 2017, Erin and Erin have explored chronic and infectious diseases, medications, poisons, viruses, bacteria and scientific discoveries. They’ve researched public health subjects including plague, Zika, COVID-19, lupus, asbestos, endometriosis and more.

Each episode is accompanied by a creative quarantini cocktail recipe and a non-alcoholic placeborita.

Erin Welsh, Ph.D. is a co-host of the This Podcast Will Kill You. She is a disease ecologist and epidemiologist and works full-time as a science communicator through her work on the podcast. Erin Allmann Updyke, MD, Ph.D. is a co-host of This Podcast Will Kill You. She’s an epidemiologist and disease ecologist currently in the final stretch of her family medicine residency program.

This Podcast Will Kill You is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including science, true crime, comedic interviews, news, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, Buried Bones, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast and more.

This Podcast Will Kill You

This podcast might not actually kill you, but Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke cover so many things that can. In each episode, they tackle a different topic, teaching listeners about the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery. They do the scientific research, so you don’t have to.
 
Since 2017, Erin and Erin have explored chronic and infectious diseases, medications, poisons, viruses, bacteria and scientific discoveries. They’ve researched public health subjects including plague, Zika, COVID-19, lupus, asbestos, endometriosis and more.

Each episode is accompanied by a creative quarantini cocktail recipe and a non-alcoholic placeborita.

Erin Welsh, Ph.D. is a co-host of the This Podcast Will Kill You. She is a disease ecologist and epidemiologist and works full-time as a science communicator through her work on the podcast. Erin Allmann Updyke, MD, Ph.D. is a co-host of This Podcast Will Kill You. She’s an epidemiologist and disease ecologist currently in the final stretch of her family medicine residency program.

This Podcast Will Kill You is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including science, true crime, comedic interviews, news, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, Buried Bones, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast and more.

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, and its present day status may surprise you.

Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6301bf7a-0669-483c-b419-b2760149d9ef/transcript

Cancer has touched every one of us in some capacity, and learning of a diagnosis inspires many more questions than it answers. In this four-part series on cancer, we aim to lay a foundation of knowledge that will help make sense of this multifaceted disease. We begin our four-part series on cancer by asking a deceptively simple question: what is cancer? As we’ll discover over the course of these episodes, there is not one answer but many. After all, cancer is not one disease but many. In this first episode, we examine the clinical definitions of cancer - when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, how is that determined, and what does that mean? Viewing that question through a historical lens reveals our changing understanding of cancer and how that knowledge filters into the public perception of this disease. With cancer diagnoses on the rise, it’s tempting to label cancer a disease of the 20th or 21st centuries. But is that the case? Tune in to find out.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

Cancer has touched every one of us in some capacity, and learning of a diagnosis inspires many more questions than it answers. In this four-part series on cancer, we aim to lay a foundation of knowledge that will help make sense of this multifaceted disease. We begin our four-part series on cancer by asking a deceptively simple question: what is cancer? As we&rsquo;ll discover over the course of these episodes, there is not one answer but many. After all, cancer is not one disease but many. In this first episode, we examine the clinical definitions of cancer - when someone receives a cancer diagnosis, how is that determined, and what does that mean? Viewing that question through a historical lens reveals our changing understanding of cancer and how that knowledge filters into the public perception of this disease. With cancer diagnoses on the rise, it&rsquo;s tempting to label cancer a disease of the 20th or 21st centuries. But is that the case? Tune in to find out.
Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: <a href="https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu">https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu</a>

Ep 202 Cancer Part 1: What is it?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1aa8aa9c-e325-4c45-937f-b3f5013b9c88/transcript

What happens if you put a bunch of rats in an enclosure and provision them with unlimited food and water? Researcher John B. Calhoun was committed to finding out. Results from Calhoun’s “rat utopia” experiments from the mid-20th century revealed a behavioral dark side that emerged as space grew increasingly limited, ultimately leading to complete population collapse. As headlines conveyed dire warnings about global overpopulation, Calhoun’s work served to reinforce those fears and shape our understanding of the importance of personal space. In this week’s TPWKY book club episode, Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden join me to discuss their book, Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B. Calhoun. Tune in for a fascinating a tour through Calhoun’s bizarre and influential research, which even inspired a beloved (if a little creepy) children’s book and movie, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

What happens if you put a bunch of rats in an enclosure and provision them with unlimited food and water? Researcher John B. Calhoun was committed to finding out. Results from Calhoun&rsquo;s &ldquo;rat utopia&rdquo; experiments from the mid-20th century revealed a behavioral dark side that emerged as space grew increasingly limited, ultimately leading to complete population collapse. As headlines conveyed dire warnings about global overpopulation, Calhoun&rsquo;s work served to reinforce those fears and shape our understanding of the importance of personal space. In this week&rsquo;s TPWKY book club episode, Jon Adams and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/history/people//academic-staff/profiles/ramsdenedmund.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.qmul.ac.uk/history/people//academic-staff/profiles/ramsdenedmund.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1770833137833000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2F3TlDOXntSbv9gwVtBHlL">Edmund Ramsden</a>&nbsp;join me to discuss their book,&nbsp;<a href="https://bookshop.org/a/3175/9781685890995" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/a/3175/9781685890995&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1770833137833000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0qfgKSeYgD6m-fUgU7wKtR">Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B. Calhoun</a>. Tune in for a fascinating a tour through Calhoun&rsquo;s bizarre and influential research, which even inspired a beloved (if a little creepy) children&rsquo;s book and movie, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: <a href="https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu">https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu</a>

Special Episode: Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden & Rat City

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/50acaac0-3d3f-4410-af5a-b3ed01518bcf/transcript

Poop is an incredibly valuable and massively underutilized resource. However, most of us don’t see it that way because of our evolutionarily ingrained disgust towards poop. Flush toilets and intricate sewer systems have revolutionized health and hygiene by whisking our poop far away where we don’t have to think about it. But that poop has gotta go somewhere, and eventually, not thinking about it isn’t going to be an option. Similarly, not thinking about our individual poop is asking for disaster, since what we produce can reveal a great deal about our gut and overall health. In this episode, we explore the problems that poop can cause on both the individual and population level. From constipation to fiber, and the Great Stink to communal poop sponges, we’re continuing our journey into the curiously fascinating world of poop.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

Poop is an incredibly valuable and massively underutilized resource. However, most of us don&rsquo;t see it that way because of our evolutionarily ingrained disgust towards poop. Flush toilets and intricate sewer systems have revolutionized health and hygiene by whisking our poop far away where we don&rsquo;t have to think about it. But that poop has gotta go somewhere, and eventually, not thinking about it isn&rsquo;t going to be an option. Similarly, not thinking about our individual poop is asking for disaster, since what we produce can reveal a great deal about our gut and overall health. In this episode, we explore the problems that poop can cause on both the individual and population level. From constipation to fiber, and the Great Stink to communal poop sponges, we&rsquo;re continuing our journey into the curiously fascinating world of poop.
Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: <a href="https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu">https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu</a>

Ep 201 Poop Part 2: Flushed away

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3bcc10fd-5c5c-4bba-89d1-b3e7012d4c0c/transcript

Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race

In 1 playlist(s)

This Podcast Will Kill You

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips