Cyanide has made quite the name for itself. 

Take the Jonestown murder-suicide, for example—where cult leader Jim Jones called for over 900 of his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. Cyanide also sits centerstage with a popular spy movie trope: the cyanide tooth. In case of capture, pop out the fake tooth that’s actually made of cyanide. Swallow it. And boom, a quick death is on its way.

But how exactly does cyanide kill you?

Let’s light up our gumshoe detective pipes and crack this case wide open with Neil Bradbury, author of A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them.

A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:

• Why cyanide causes your blood to turn bright red
• The fascinating way cyanide shuts your body down
• Why B12 can save you from cyanide poisoning

Did You Know?

From a murderer’s perspective, cyanide is typically given as either sodium or potassium cyanide crystals—which are often sprinkled in water.

Buy A Taste for Poison

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Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.

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