Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
Ep 134 Tonsils: Underestimated and underappreciated
Season 6
Raise your hand if you or someone you know has had their tonsils removed. If your hand is sky-high, there’s a pretty good chance that you (or that person you know) are from the US and were born befor…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Ep 133 Parvoviruses: Who let the dogs (and their viruses) out?
Season 6
This one’s not just for the dogs. It’s also for the cats, the raccoons, the wax moths, the birds, the mice, and so many other critters. Oh, and of course the humans. Even though most of us may be fam…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Ep 132 Osteogenesis Imperfecta: All bones about it
Season 6
Often, the more we learn about a disease, the more we learn about ourselves and the world around us. The story of the genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), colloquially known as brittle bone…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Ep 131 Parkinson’s Disease: Dopamine & discoveries
Season 6
Parkinson’s is a disease of many dimensions. On the shelves of any bookstore or library you’ll find at least a handful of titles exploring the topic from a myriad of perspectives, and extending that …
Published on 2 years ago
Ep 130 Cocoliztli: We do love a salty dish
Season 6
In the 16th century, a series of deadly epidemics swept through much of the region of Mesoamerica known as the Aztec Empire, killing untold millions. By the start of the first of these epidemics, the…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Ep 129 Lymphatic Filariasis: Hiding in plain sight
Season 6
With a history extending back millennia, with a biology that leads to permanent disability for tens of millions of people globally, and with a bacterial endosymbiont that may prove to be its Achilles…
Published on 2 years, 1 month ago
Ep 128 Skin Cancer: We love and fear the sun
Season 6
For every article about the risks of sun exposure or a guide to sunscreens, you don’t have to look far to find one about the health benefits of sunshine or a how-to for achieving the best tan. Messag…
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago
Wondery Presents: MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries
Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.
The human body is a mira…
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago
Ep 127 Bhopal: The 1984 Union Carbide Disaster
Season 6
On the night of December 2, 1984, a deadly gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India led to what has been described as the world’s worst industrial disaster. In the immediate aft…
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago
Ep 126 Migraine: A Cacophony in Four Movements
Season 6
“Throbbing, pulsating pain.” “Like a drill boring into your head.” “As though your head is gripped by a vise.” “Stabbing pain hammering through your brain.” There is no shortage of metaphors used to …
Published on 2 years, 2 months ago