Episode Details

The history of ticks in the United States is far stranger and more disturbing than many of us realize. Award-winning science writer Kris Newby, author of Bitten The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons and senior producer of the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Under Our Skin, joins Ginny Yurich to uncover the documented Cold War programs that experimented with weaponizing ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes. Kris shares her own family's devastating experience with Lyme disease, the years she spent investigating scientist Willy Burgdorfer, the open-air tick releases she uncovered, and why she believes we still don't know the whole story. But this conversation isn't meant to scare families indoors. It ends where parents need it to with information on how to take ticks seriously, what to do when you find one, and how to keep giving our kids the childhood outdoors they need. Learn more about Kris and her work at Kris Newby and watch Under Our Skin.

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