This Podcast Will Kill You

Chances are you know someone with endometriosis, or perhaps you’re affected yourself. But despite its incredibly high prevalence, endo remains almost criminally understudied, undertreated, and underacknowledged. In this episode, we aim to shed light on many aspects of endometriosis, first by examining the “what” and “how” of this disease: what’s actually going on inside your body with endometriosis and how does it cause the symptoms that it does? Then we turn our sights to the why, exploring not only the possible evolutionary origins of this disease but also the deep historical roots contributing to the struggle many people still face today in obtaining a diagnosis. We discuss how although hysteria is no longer a valid medical diagnosis, it has left its mark on medicine in the form of implicit bias that leaves many people feeling unlistened to and unbelieved. We then wrap up the episode with a look at endometriosis by the numbers and some current research that leaves us feeling slightly more hopeful about the growing awareness of this disease and the need for effective treatments.

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In this week’s episode, we cover a bacterium whose recent emergence and rapid spread has been largely an epidemic of our own making. Clostridium difficile isn’t your typical pathogen - in many cases it’s not even considered a pathogen, just a normal member of our gut microbiota. But when something disrupts our gut microbiota, like antibiotics, C. difficile is given the freedom to spread its wings, wreaking deadly havoc on our bodies especially when it refuses to leave. We explore the characteristics of this bacterium that make it such a terrifying public health threat, delve into its recent-but-not-as-recent-as-you-might-think history, and chat about the current status of C. diff before asking the question, “what can poo do for you?” That’s right, we’re taking this opportunity to talk about one of our all-time favorite medical interventions, fecal microbiota transplantation. Helping us navigate the ins and outs of fecal transplants is Dr. Majdi Osman, Chief Medical Officer at OpenBiome, a nonprofit stool bank that aims to expand access to safe fecal microbiota transplantation and fund research into the human microbiome. By the end of this episode, we think you’ll find yourself in awe at the healing powers of poop.

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We’re back with our first episode of Season 5, and we’re starting off with a bang! Epidemic typhus, that friend of war and famine, may have caused more wartime deaths than all battles combined, and though it may seem like a disease relegated to the past, typhus only needs a minor disruption to turn it into a scourge of the present. In this epic season opener, we turn our sights to the louse-transmitted Rickettsia prowazekii, first diving into the strange and terrible biology of this bacterium before exploring the deep history of this tiny but mighty pathogen. The vast story of typhus takes us on a journey on a ‘coffin ship’ of the Great Irish Famine, through musings of the origins of human body and head lice, to German-occupied Poland during WWII with tales of vaccine sabotage and lice feeding, and finally to the present day, where we discuss the very real threat that epidemic typhus continues to pose. Check out this episode for all you ever wanted to know about epidemic typhus and more!

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To say that alcohol is a part of human culture is a bit of an understatement. The relationship our species has with alcohol can be traced so far back that we see evidence of it in our DNA, in the way that humans, somewhat unique among mammals, gained the ability to more efficiently metabolize dietary ethanol. But while many of us have personal experience with the effects (and unpleasant aftereffects) that alcohol has on our body, how much do we know about why it makes us feel the way it does? What is alcohol doing to our bodies, to our brains? In this episode, we take a long look at this compound, from the varied effects it has on our bodies to the long history it shares with humans. Tune in to our Season 4 finale to hear why hangovers exist, how fermenting fruits on the forest floor led us to intentional production, and the truth behind all of those headlines advocating for a glass of red wine a day to keep the doctor away.

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It’s the summer of 1999 in New York City, and everyone's looking towards the future, towards millennium parties and potential Y2K catastrophes. But if they turned their eyes to the streets around and skies above, they might have seen something else on the horizon, something much more real and alarming than a Y2K glitch: the arrival of West Nile virus. In this episode, we take a close look at the virus whose recent emergence in the Western Hemisphere serves as a crucial reminder of how pathogens know no political boundaries and how working across disciplines is the only way to effectively control and prevent disease outbreaks. We are also so excited to be joined by Dr. Sarah Wheeler, Biologist at Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District, who talks us through the ecology of this mosquito-borne disease and shares the birds-eye view of the situation in North America. Last but certainly not least, we round out this episode with a delightful and informative song about West Nile virus: West Nile Story by MC Bugg-Z and the Fairfax County Health Department. Check out this action-packed episode wherever you get your podcasts!

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Almost everyone is familiar with diabetes mellitus in some way. Whether we know family or friends that have been diagnosed with the condition or we’re directly impacted ourselves, diabetes mellitus has become a household name. And this is perhaps not surprising given its extremely high prevalence - nearly 9% of adults around the globe are estimated to live with the disease. But although we may know someone with diabetes, how much do we know about diabetes itself? How does it work? Why does it cause the acute symptoms and long-term complications it does? Where does an infamous scientific rivalry fit into the story of diabetes? How long have humans been dealing with this disease, and how far has treatment come since the early days of diabetes? And importantly, how has our perception and portrayal of diabetes changed over the course of its history? In this episode, we seek to answer all these questions and many more about the globally-prevalent diabetes mellitus.

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Twenty years ago this month, letters containing Bacillus anthracis spores were mailed to various politicians and news media offices in the US, resulting in illness, death, and a widespread fear that transformed anthrax from an agricultural disease or occupational hazard into a potential weapon of bioterrorism. In this episode, we explore the many dimensions of anthrax, from the different ways B. anthracis can cause disease to the incredibly long and varied history of the pathogen, a history of which bioterrorism is only a very recent part. Adding to anthrax’s multifaceted nature is the fact that B. anthracis is an environmental pathogen, one that can greatly impact livestock and wild animals, which requires collaboration across fields to effectively identify and control anthrax outbreaks. To help us explore this pathogen from a One Health perspective, we were so thrilled to chat with Dr. Johanna Salzer, Veterinary Medical Officer in the Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who filled us in on the veterinary side of anthrax, and Morgan Walker, spatial epidemiologist at the University of Florida, who talked us through the environmental factors that affect B. anthracis distribution and emergence. Tune in for a much more than surface-level look at this spore-forming pathogen.

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A nighttime “kiss” from a bug that casts a curse on its recipient in the form of a lifelong, and possibly fatal, illness. No, this isn’t some half-remembered fairy tale. It’s the true story of Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by many species of triatomines (aka kissing bugs). In this episode, we take you through the utterly complicated biology of Chagas disease in its acute and chronic forms, the surprising evolutionary and historical background of this parasite and the scientist for whom it’s named, and finally the grim reality that is the global status of Chagas disease today. 

The dizzying ecological complexity and pathophysiological mystery of this disease makes it a challenge to study, and the lack of funding only compounds the issue; Chagas disease bears the dubious distinction of the most neglected of all the neglected tropical diseases. In spite of this, many people are dedicated to easing the global burden of Chagas disease, and we were delighted to interview two of these Chagas champions for this episode. Daisy Hernandez, Associate Professor at Miami University, joins us to discuss the inspiration for her recent book The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease, and Dr. Sarah Hamer, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, delves into the ecological aspects of this disease and shares the incredible community science program that raises awareness about T. cruzi and the bugs that transmit it.

To learn more, check out the links below:

Daisy Hernandez: website, Twitter (@daisyhernandez), Instagram (@iamdazeher), Facebook 

Dr. Sarah Hamer: lab website, lab Twitter (@hamer_lab), Community Science Program

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While many of us know how deadly dysentery can be from playing countless hours of The Oregon Trail, there’s only so much that the classic game covered regarding this multifaceted disease. For instance, did you know that it can be caused by multiple pathogenic microbes? Or that it is and always has been closely associated with warfare and armies? Or that it remains one of the leading causes of death globally for children under five? In this episode all about dysentery, we pick up where The Oregon Trail left off. Tune in to hear facts about ancient toilets and a list of famous people killed by the disease and to learn how dysentery isn’t just about diarrhea and how the “bloody flux” lives up to its (horrible) colorful name.

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Bumps and bruises. Cuts and scrapes. Gashes and gouges. Injuries small and large are familiar to all of us, but what happens when part of our body’s innate healing ability is disrupted? What happens, for instance, when the blood just won’t stop flowing? In this episode, we explore one of the most common of these disruptions: the clotting disorder known as hemophilia. From the physiological nitty gritty on how blood clotting actually works to the long history, at times both tragic and triumphant, of the “royal disease”, we trace the story of hemophilia, ending with a hopeful look towards the future. 

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