Podcast Episodes

Wondery Presents: The Greatest Con Man Ever?

Introducing the true crime podcast Persona: The French Deception— the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someon…

Published on 3 years, 6 months ago

Ep 99 Salmonella: A hard egg to crack

Season 5

We’ve all been there: doubled over in pain as stomach cramps grip your guts; the panicked shuffle to the nearest bathroom; the waves of nausea and chills as you cry out loud, “oh no, what did I eat??…

Published on 3 years, 6 months ago

Ep 98 Folate: Marmite, anyone?

Season 5

It’s been years since our first (and, until now, only) vitamin-centric episode on scurvy, and we’re thrilled to be dipping our toes back into these nutritious waters with this episode on folate. Have…

Published on 3 years, 6 months ago

Special Episode: Snake Venom Evolution

Season 5

Our snake venom episode last week took us down some fascinating roads, from the pathophysiological effects of these compounds to the snake detection hypothesis and from the development of antivenom t…

Published on 3 years, 7 months ago

Ep 97 Snake Venom: Collateral Damage

Season 5

How do you feel about snakes? Intrigued or terrified? In awe or creeped out? Of course, those aren’t the only options; the sight or thought of a snake can evoke many different emotions, but chances a…

Published on 3 years, 7 months ago

Special Episode: Coprolites!

Season 5

Our tapeworm episode last week mentioned the remarkable finding of tapeworm eggs in a 270 million-year old shark coprolite, that is, fossilized feces. And this certainly wasn’t the first time coproli…

Published on 3 years, 7 months ago

Ep 96 Tapeworm: We encyst you listen

Season 5

We can probably all agree that the thought of a tapeworm hiding out in your gut is not a pleasant one. Nor is the image of tapeworm larvae forming cysts in your muscles, organs, and even your brain. …

Published on 3 years, 7 months ago

Special Episode: On the Origin of Epidemiology

Season 5

The classic tale of epidemiology almost always begins with public health hero John Snow traipsing all over London to track down the source of the 1854 cholera epidemic, ultimately identified as the B…

Published on 3 years, 7 months ago

Ep 95 Tetanus: An inhuman calamity!

Season 5

[CW: Firsthand account includes description of the death of an infant. Skip approximately first 3 min to avoid.]

What comes to mind when you hear the word tetanus? For many people, it’s probably the h…

Published on 3 years, 8 months ago

Special Episode: Chlamydia, Koalas, and More!

Season 5

Chlamydia trachomatis may have stolen the show in our last episode, but there are many other Chlamydiae that deserve some time under the spotlight. In this bonus episode, Dr. Martina Jelocnik (@Marti…

Published on 3 years, 8 months ago