Episodes

November 29, 2022

Ep 110 Influenza, Take 2: Fowl Play
Ep 110 Influenza, Take 2: Sitting Ducks; Fowl Play Over five years ago, on October 31, 2017, the very first episode of This Podcast Will Kill You premiered, an action-packed (and mildly disorganized) tour of the influenza virus and the 1918 flu pandemic. So much has happened since that episode’s...
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November 28, 2022

Wondery Presents: The Vanished
The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week. Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members, frien...
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November 15, 2022

Ep 109 Chikungunya: Not dengue (or is it?)
Somehow it’s taken us until the penultimate episode to cover this season’s first mosquito-borne virus. But we assure you, this episode is well-worth the wait. Although Chikungunya virus is often lumped in with dengue or Zika, the unique characteristics that distinguish Chikungunya virus from these ...
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November 1, 2022

Ep 108 Gout: Toetally fascinating
Although today we tend to think about diseases in terms of signs and symptoms, tests and treatments, that hasn’t always been the case. For much of history, diseases carried with them a deeper meaning beyond the pathophysiological processes leading to their development. A diagnosis was as much about...
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October 18, 2022

Ep 107 Sepsis: It's a mess
Over the years of the podcast, we have often struggled with questions of why: why pathogens act the way they do, why certain people get sick while others don’t, or why we know little about some diseases. This episode is no exception - sepsis certainly inspires many “whys”. But for perhaps the first...
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October 4, 2022

Ep 106 Turner Syndrome: Let's talk about X
Are you in the mood to chat chromosomes, specifically the X chromosome? If so, have we got the perfect episode for you! You may have come across the definition of Turner syndrome as a genetic condition resulting from the partial or complete loss of an X chromosome, but what does that actually mean?...
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September 20, 2022

Ep 105 Down in the Mumps
We’ve covered measles, we’ve taken on rubella, and now we’re finishing up the classic MMR vaccine by exploring the other M: mumps. To some listeners, mumps may be a painful childhood memory while to others it’s just a letter in a vaccine they were too young to remember getting. But by the end of th...
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September 6, 2022

Ep 104 The Bends: Industrial Revolution, baby
Don your wetsuit, grab your oxygen tank, and securely fasten your mask, because this week we’re going on our deepest dive yet. In this episode, we’re plumbing the depths of decompression sickness, aka the bends, to get a better handle on how gases and pressure can be so very deadly. We start out wi...
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August 23, 2022

Ep 103 Leptospirosis: Don't blame the rats
The story of leptospirosis is chock full of variety. In terms of biology, any number of different Leptospira species and serovars can play a role in infection, and the resulting infection can run from asymptomatic to deadly. As for ecology, virtually any mammalian species can either act as an affec...
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August 9, 2022

Ep 102 Arsenic: Paris Green with Envy
“The king of poisons,” “the poison of kings,” “inheritance powder.” As its various nicknames suggest, arsenic’s notoriety largely stems from its use as a murder weapon. But as we explore in this episode, the world of arsenic is much, much bigger than just as a plot device in an Agatha Christie nove...
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July 26, 2022

Ep 101 Immortality: This Podcast Won't Kill You
For what was originally going to be our 100th regular season episode, we wanted to turn the vaguely threatening title of our podcast on its head by exploring a topic that’s not about something that can kill you but rather the hows and whys of staying alive, forever. That’s right, this week we’re ta...
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July 12, 2022

Ep 100 Monkeypox: Here we go again?
A little over two years into a pandemic, the last thing you probably want to see is headlines announcing yet another disease spreading across the globe. And yet, here we are. Beginning in May 2022, an increasing number of cases of monkeypox have been reported in many countries around the world, bot...
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June 28, 2022

Ep 99 Salmonella: A hard egg to crack
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??”.  At the very least, food poisoning is a humbling experience, but at the worst, it can be abs...
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June 14, 2022

Ep 98 Folate: Marmite, anyone?
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 you ever wondered why folate is important or what the difference is between folate and folic acid? ...
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June 7, 2022

Special Episode: Snake Venom Evolution
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 to the incidence of snakebite around the world today. But how did we make it through that whole episo...
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May 31, 2022

Ep 97 Snake Venom: Collateral Damage
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 are indifference isn’t one of them. And is it any wonder? Some snakes can produce incredibly potent v...
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May 24, 2022

Special Episode: Coprolites!
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 coprolites have come up on the podcast; we’ve referenced them several times before, mostly when discussin...
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May 17, 2022

Ep 96 Tapeworm: We encyst you listen
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. So listening to an entire episode on these parasitic worms? We understand why that may seem like a b...
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May 10, 2022

Special Episode: On the Origin of Epidemiology
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 Broad Street Pump. While Snow’s famous endeavor earned him the title “the father of field epidemiolog...
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May 3, 2022

Ep 95 Tetanus: An inhuman calamity!
[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 horrible thought of stepping on a rusty nail or the every-so-often Tdap booster you get at your doc...
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April 26, 2022

Special Episode: Chlamydia, Koalas, and More!
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 ( @MartinaJelocnik ) and Dr. Sam Phillips ( @Sam_Phillips_83 ) from the University of the Sunshine Coast...
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April 19, 2022

Ep 94 Chlamydia: Double Trouble
With this episode, you’re getting much more than you probably bargained for, thanks to the quirks of Chlamydia trachomatis . This small but mighty bacterium can cause a number of different conditions throughout your body, most notably in your eyes and your genital tract, and the resulting infectio...
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April 12, 2022

Re-Release: Ep 27 Vaccines Part 2: Have you thanked your immune system lately?
[This episode is a re-release of Ep 27 Vaccines Part 2: Have you thanked your immune system lately?, originally published May 21, 2019] Were you stoked about the history and biology of vaccines we covered in part 1, but left with even more questions? Were you really hoping to hear us talk about an...
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April 5, 2022

Re-Release: Ep 26 Vaccines Part 1: Let's hear it for Maurice
[This episode is a re-release of Ep 26 Vaccines Part 1: Let's hear it for Maurice, originally published May 14, 2019] The wait is finally over: this week we are very excited to bring you the episode we’ve been teasing for weeks: vaccines! This week and next (you don’t have to wait a full two weeks...
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March 29, 2022

Special Episode: Electricity
While last week’s episode covered ample ground when it came to lightning strikes, there is so much more to the world of electricity left to explore. Fortunately, there’s a bonus episode for that! This week, we’re joined by a familiar voice,  Dr. Timothy Jorgensen , whose previous appearance on...
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March 22, 2022

Ep 93 Lightning & Other Stories: Power Hour (and a Half)
Lightning strikes have an aura of myth and legend around them, and their mystical reputation is inflated by stories that tell of people who, after having been hit by lightning, are suddenly able to speak a new language or play the piano expertly. However, such embellished stories often fail to disti...
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March 15, 2022

Special Episode: Epstein-Barr Virus
In last week’s episode, we explored the mysterious world of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the ongoing quest to determine what causes this autoimmune disease. While it’s likely that no one single factor leads to the development of MS, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has long been suspected to play a role...
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March 8, 2022

Ep 92 Multiple Sclerosis: Scarred nerves & skating saints
Like many autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis so clearly illustrates how detection and description of a disease only gets us so far when it comes to prevention, treatment, and cure. In the over 150 years since the first comprehensive description of multiple sclerosis, a great deal of progress ha...
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March 1, 2022

Special Episode: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
We ended our myxoma virus episode on a bit of a cliffhanger, briefly alluding to the emergence of another deadly rabbit virus on the global scene. In this follow-up bonus episode, we take a closer look at this recent arrival, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), and what its rapid spread around...
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February 22, 2022

Ep 91 Myxomatosis: Down the rabbit hole
Invasive rabbits so numerous they form a “gray blanket” across the land. A killer virus, intentionally released to keep the bunnies at bay. An ensuing evolutionary arms race with no end in sight. It sounds more like the premise of a bad sci fi movie rather than a textbook case of biocontrol. But tru...
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February 15, 2022

Special Episode: Human African Trypanosomiasis & Drug Development
Our episode last week ended on a hopeful note, a rare occurrence for this podcast, and it was due in large part to the incredible decline in reported cases of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) over the past decade. In this bonus episode, we explore one of the major reasons behind this drop in HAT...
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February 8, 2022

Ep 90 Human African Trypanosomiasis: A lot to unpack
Here on the podcast, we’re no strangers to multi-host parasites with complicated life cycles, intricate ecologies and dense human histories. But human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) might require the most unpacking yet. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the tsetse fly-transmitted HAT, whose oth...
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February 1, 2022

Special Episode: Hep B Stigma & Discrimination
Blood tests and liver function results can only tell us part of the story when it comes to the impact that hepatitis B has on people living with the virus. Far too often overlooked is how stigma and discrimination, which we only briefly touched upon in our last episode, contribute to the substantia...
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January 25, 2022

Ep 89 Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2
This week, we’re dipping a toe back into the vast waters of hepatitis viruses, this time with a focus on hepatitis B. The hepatitis B virus, though second to be named, was first to be discovered, and effective vaccines and treatments have been available for decades. Yet the global prevalence of thi...
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January 11, 2022

Ep 88 Endometriosis: Menstrual Backwash
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 examini...
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December 28, 2021

Ep 87 C. diff: Fighting poop with poop
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 whe...
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December 14, 2021

Ep 86 Typhus: Another lousy episode
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...
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November 2, 2021

Ep 85 Alcohol: Beer for Thought
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 dietar...
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October 19, 2021

Ep 84 West Nile virus: The Crow in the Coal Mine
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 alarm...
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October 5, 2021

Ep 83 Diabetes: Short & Sweet
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 - ...
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September 21, 2021

Ep 82 Anthrax: The Hardcore Spore
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...
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September 7, 2021

Ep 81 Chagas disease: The Reverse Triple Discovery
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 tr...
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August 24, 2021

Ep 80 Dysentery loves a disaster
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 b...
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August 10, 2021

Ep 79 Hemophilia: A Hemorrhagic Disposition
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 co...
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July 27, 2021

Ep 78 Bartonella: Keep Calm and Carrión
“Let’s do  Bartonella  next,” we said. “It’ll be straightforward and fun,” we promised ourselves. Turns out we were half right. In this fun but not quite straightforward episode, we tackle not one, not two, but three different species of Bartonella bacteria that can cause disease in human...
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July 13, 2021

Ep 77 Legionnaires' Disease: A Killer Mist
Celebration wasn’t the only thing in the air in Philadelphia in July of 1976. Over the course of several days during the 58th Annual Convention of the American Legion, a killer mist spewed out of the air conditioning units throughout the building and into the sidewalks nearby. The result was a larg...
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June 29, 2021

Ep 76 Chickenpox: There's always a 'but'
Ah, chickenpox, that pesky old childhood illness. And that’s all it is, right? Just a mild, routine infection that we all used to catch until the vaccine came around? Not quite. In this episode, we learn that, when it comes to the varicella-zoster virus, not everything is as it seems. We explore the...
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June 15, 2021

Ep 75 Mercury: The cost of progress
When you think of mercury, what springs to mind? Is it the entrancing drop of shimmery liquid that flows from a broken thermometer, giving the metal the name quicksilver? Or is it the warnings of overconsumption of fish and bioaccumulation? Or perhaps it’s the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland? Th...
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June 8, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 20: Looking forward by looking back
Over the past year and a half, we have learned so much about this virus, but there is still more to know. There always will be. We have seen the widespread impacts that the pandemic has had on all facets of society, but there is still more to see. There always will be. The COVID-19 pandemic is not ...
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June 1, 2021

Ep 74 Naegleria fowleri: The "brain-eating amoeba"
Every summer, when the warm weather rolls around and the local ponds and lakes heat up enough for a tempting dip, remember that there may be something else lurking in those waters besides the people looking to cool off.  Naegleria fowleri , the topic of today’s episode, makes its home in warm,...
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May 25, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 19: Your Stories
From virology to vaccines, from education to economics, and from disparities to disease, our Anatomy of a Pandemic series has covered many different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With such a broad range of topics and an often birds-eye view of the situation, it can be easy to forget that this is...
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May 18, 2021

Ep 73 Puerperal Fever: Seriously, wash your hands
Our sign-off, “wash your hands, ya filthy animals”, has never been more appropriate than with this episode on puerperal or childbed fever, now known as maternal peripartum infections. It took us over seventy episodes to get here, but today we finally tell the tragic story of Ignác Semmelweis, the “f...
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May 11, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 18: Conservation & Pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic has touched all of our lives in incredibly varied ways, with no two experiences exactly alike. Despite this, we all probably share the same thought: how can we stop this from happening again? In this episode of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series, we ask that question in the cont...
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May 4, 2021

Ep 72 White-Nose Syndrome: How deep is your torpor?
A fluffy white fungus and a little brown bat. A deafening silence and an uncertain future. In this episode, we explore one of the most devastating wildlife diseases in recent times, white-nose syndrome. Since its debut in North America in 2006, this fungal pathogen has spread across much of the con...
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April 27, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 17: Frontline Mental Health
This pandemic has certainly taken its toll on all of us, but one group that has been particularly hard hit are those who have been on the front lines, continuing to take care of patients even when PPE was running low or nonexistent, even when there were no more ICU beds available. During both non-p...
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April 20, 2021

Ep 71 Onchocerciasis/River Blindness: So many mysteries
In this classic TPWKY episode we travel down rivers and into worm-laden nodes as we take a look at the complex world of Onchocerca volvulus, the vector-borne parasite that causes river blindness. Join us as we learn why the name ‘river blindness’ captures only one dimension of the devastation caused...
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April 13, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 16: Disparities, Take 2
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic minorities, especially here in the United States. Higher infection, hospitalization, and death rates due to COVID-19 have been observed for historically marginalized groups, and the harmful effects stem beyond those relating to...
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April 6, 2021

Ep 70 Henrietta Lacks: HeLa, There, & Everywhere
Of the many topics our podcast has covered in the past, from smallpox to scurvy, vaccines to birth control and beyond, one factor has linked nearly all of them: HeLa cells. These cells and the woman from whom they were taken have often remained behind the scenes in the coverage of these topics, but...
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March 30, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 15: Disease, Take 2
We’re over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and our understanding of this virus and the disease it causes has grown immensely. And while we’ve learned so much about the spectrum of disease severity, the wide array of symptoms, and the effectiveness of various treatments, there is still so much we...
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March 23, 2021

Ep 69 Huntington’s disease: Let’s talk frankly
Despite being one of the earliest recognized genetic diseases, many aspects of Huntington’s disease remain shrouded in mystery. This stems in part from our limited grasp on how our own minds work but also from the dark history of Huntington’s disease and the shame and silence that accompanied it for...
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March 9, 2021

Ep 68 Coccidioidomycosis: It’s never a spider bite
Don’t be daunted by the length of this disease name or just how difficult it looks to pronounce. By the end of the episode, you’ll be saying it right along with us, and bonus, you’ll also be armed with a whole bunch of excellent trivia about this fascinating fungal disease. In this episode, we dive ...
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February 23, 2021

Ep 67 HPV: My wart be with you
The world of human papillomaviruses is vast and varied, and causing cervical cancer is just one of the many roles these viruses can take on. From their carcinogenic tendencies to their more benign wart-forming ways, this episode explores what these tiny viruses have taught us about how our bodies pr...
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February 9, 2021

Ep 66 The Outs and Ins of Organ Transplantation
From the first skin grafts to the future of 3D printed organs, the science of organ transplantation has always seemed like something out of a sci-fi novel. How on earth can an organ from one person be removed and successfully placed into another person? Who first attempted such a monumental feat, a...
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January 26, 2021

Ep 65 Sweating Sickness: Ready, Sweat, Go!
Here’s a pop quiz for all of you: what disease makes you sweat profusely, run a slight fever, develop body aches and a pounding head and then makes you drop dead within hours of symptom onset? If you answered “I have no idea”, you passed! Because we haven’t a clue either. In this episode, we attempt...
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January 12, 2021

Ep 64 Rubella: Timing is Everything
For many of us, rubella has simply come to mean the R in MMR, the routine childhood measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. But that hasn’t always been the case. There was once a time when the rubella virus routinely made front page news and was at the center of countless legal discussions. This week, ...
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January 5, 2021

COVID-19 Chapter 14: Virology, Take 2
The fourteenth installment of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on COVID-19 dives into what we’ve learned about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Curious about the new strains or variants making headlines lately? Or how exactly tests for COVID-19 actually work? Or perhaps you’ve been wonde...
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December 29, 2020

Ep 63 Poison Ivy: It's Just Us
Our first crossover episode this season with Dr. Matt Candeias of In Defense of Plants stars everyone’s favorite irritating plant-originated substance: urushiol! Join us for a light-hearted deep dive into urushiol, aka the stuff in poison ivy that makes you soooo itchy/burny/scratchy. Have you ever ...
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December 22, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 13: Vaccines, Take 2
We’re back with another episode in our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on COVID-19. This time, our subject matter is the one everyone has been waiting for: vaccines. In this episode, with the help of two amazing guests, we attempt to answer all of your burning questions about the new vaccines for the ...
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December 15, 2020

Ep 62 Leishmaniasis, Relationship Status: It's Complicated
The neglected tropical disease known as leishmaniasis is really more of a collection of diseases caused by a variety of parasites transmitted through the bite of a diversity of sandfly species. Sounds a bit complicated? You’re not wrong. But have no fear. Because in this episode, we walk you through...
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December 10, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 12: Control, Take 2
That’s right, we are rebooting our Anatomy of a Pandemic series in which we cover various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic that has held the world in its grip since early 2020. Since our first episodes in the series dropped in March of this year, we have learned quite a lot about the SARS-CoV-2 vir...
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December 1, 2020

Ep 61 Typhoid: There's Something About Mary
Your long wait is finally over - the season four premiere of This Podcast Will Kill You has arrived! And to mark the special occasion, we’re taking on a topic that is both classic TPWKY material as well as enormously relevant to current discussions in public health. Typhoid fever has been the cause...
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October 13, 2020

Ep 60 Giving birth to "The Pill"
Well, TPWKY listeners, it has been a heck of a year, and it’s not even over yet! But one thing has come to an end: our third season. Given the profound implications these next couple of months will have on the future of health and security in the United States, for our season finale we chose to cov...
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September 29, 2020

Ep 59 Thalidomide: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied
The story of thalidomide is often employed as a cautionary tale - why testing a drug’s safety during pregnancy is crucial or why it’s important to choose the right animal models. Or it’s framed as a success story for drug repurposing or regulation. But those tellings often gloss over the darker less...
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September 15, 2020

Ep 58 Guinea worm: (Almost) Ancient History
You’ve heard about smallpox, and you’ve learned about rinderpest. Now it’s time to meet what may be the third disease to ever be eradicated: dracunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease. In this episode, we take you through the absolutely remarkable life cycle of this not-so-little worm and th...
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September 1, 2020

Ep 57 Herpes: Stop the STIgma
The harm caused by herpes simplex viruses (HSV) 1 & 2 often arises not from the pathology of the viruses themselves but rather from the stigma and shame associated with a positive diagnosis. In this episode, we attempt to lay a clear foundation for understanding not only how these viruses work ...
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August 18, 2020

Ep 56 Sickle Cell Disease: Invisible Illness, Enduring Strength
Neglected and ignored by the medical establishment throughout most of its history, sickle cell disease remains one of the most common (and commonly misunderstood) genetic conditions in the world. In this episode, we break down the myriad effects that one nucleotide substitution can have on the huma...
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August 4, 2020

Ep 55 Rocky Mountain spotted fever: The tick must be destroyed!
Despite what its name might suggest, the story of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) takes us far beyond the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the western range. From the Bitterroot Valley to southeastern Brazil, it is a story filled with equal parts tragedy and discovery, as the researchers desperate f...
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July 21, 2020

Ep 54 Wake Up and Smell the Caffeine
Are you one of the billions of people around the world who starts your day with a freshly brewed and deliciously aromatic cup of coffee or tea or maybe even hot chocolate? Or are you caffeine-avoidant, looking on at your coffee-addicted friends with confusion and maybe even pity? In either case, th...
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July 7, 2020

Ep 53 Radiation: X-Ray Marks the Spot
“I have discovered something interesting, but I do not know whether or not my observations are correct.” With these words, Wilhelm Röntgen introduced the world to an invisible power, a power which would in turn be used to both harm and heal. This week, we take a tour of the wide world of radiation,...
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June 23, 2020

Ep 52 Rinderpest: Moo Cows, Moo Problems
The second disease ever to be eradicated, rinderpest could be the most devastating and notorious infection you never knew existed. Though its name means “cattle plague”, the deadly rinderpest virus infected hundreds of species of animals during its long reign, and outbreaks of rinderpest left nothin...
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May 26, 2020

Ep 51 The Path of Most (Antibiotic) Resistance
No story of antibiotics would be complete without the rise of resistance. As promised in our last episode, this week we dive into what the WHO calls ‘one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today’ - antibiotic resistance. In the decades since their development, m...
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May 12, 2020

Ep 50 Antibiotics: We owe it all to chemistry!
Fifty episodes. That’s fifty (sometimes) deadly viruses, bacteria, protozoa, parasites, and poisons. And don’t forget the fifty quarantinis to accompany each! What better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than talking about something that may actually save you: antibiotics. In this, our gold...
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May 4, 2020

COVID-19 Ch 11: Modeling
The eleventh episode of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series has arrived, and just in time. Have you found yourself trying to sift through headlines claiming “this model predicts that” and “that model predicts this”, but you’re not sure where the truth really lies? Then this episode is for you. With th...
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April 28, 2020

Ep 49 Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Triple EEEk!
In 2019, eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, made headlines in much of the US as cases skyrocketed compared to previous years. But why is this disease so feared and even more importantly, why is it on the rise? Those are just a couple of the questions we see...
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April 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 10: Schools
In the tenth episode of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on COVID-19, we continue our exploration of the diverse impacts of this pandemic by taking a look at how education and schooling has been affected, with a particular focus on the United States. Massive school closures and transition to distan...
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April 20, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 9: Economics
Episode 9 of our Anatomy of a Pandemic is here, and this week we’re stepping outside our public health sphere to examine COVID-19 from an entirely different perspective, that of an economist. Pandemics don’t happen in a vacuum, and the ripples of their impact extend far beyond those of public healt...
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April 14, 2020

Ep 48 Botulism: Why are you the way you are?
You don’t look surprised to see this in your podcast feed - or is that just the botox? This week we’re taking a tour of the wonderful world of  Clostridium botulinum  and the toxin it produces, at once both poison and prescription. First, we delve into how botulinum toxin acts to paralyze...
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April 9, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 8: Disparities
In the eighth episode in our Anatomy of a Pandemic series focusing on COVID-19, we discuss how this pandemic will likely lead to a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable populations around the globe. “Wash your hands.” “Stay at home.” “Practice physical distancing.” These are the public hea...
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April 6, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 7: Spillover
Coming at ya with our seventh episode in our Anatomy of a Pandemic series on the ongoing COVID-19 situation. So far in the series, we’ve discussed aspects of the virus’s biology, clinical disease, epidemiology, and control efforts. We’ve briefly touched on aspects of the virus’s ecology, including ...
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March 31, 2020

Ep 47 Schistosomiasis: A Snail's Pace
It’s back to your regularly scheduled programming this week with an episode on schistosomiasis (aka bilharzia), that scourge both ancient and modern. We kick off the episode by walking you through the amazingly complex life cycle of these blood flukes and the myriad of symptoms they and their eggs c...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 6: Mental Health
Welcome to Chapter 6 of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series exploring the world of COVID-19. If you have made it this far in the series, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the information we’re throwing your way. You’re not alone. We were feeling a bit too deep down the rabbit hole as we...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 5: Vaccines
Chapter 5 of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series covering all things COVID-19 goes through some of the exciting developments in potential vaccines for this new virus. Starting us off is an anonymous account describing the challenges faced by someone in the US trying to get tested for COVID-19. Then we...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 4: Epidemiology
The fourth installment of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series takes a look at some of the epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic. But first, we hear about the experience of Katie Burson, who was quarantined along with her family on the infamous Diamond Princess cruise ship in Februar...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 3: Control
Welcome to the third chapter of our Anatomy of a Pandemic series, in which we cover the many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this chapter, we discuss how epidemic control can be managed from the individual, state, and national levels, as well as the importance of international collaboration to...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 2: Disease
This marks the second installment in our Anatomy of a Pandemic series, in which we discuss the various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this second chapter, we explore what we currently know about the disease itself, from symptom progression to incubation period and the role that asymptomatic i...
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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Chapter 1: Virology
To discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are introducing Anatomy of a Pandemic, a series in which each episode tackles a particular aspect of COVID-19, from virus biology to clinical disease, from control efforts to epidemiological patterns, from vaccine development to mental health coping stra...
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March 17, 2020

Ep 46 Lactose Intolerance: Never trust a fart
Everyone loves a good poop story, don’t they? We certainly hope so, because our good friend Katie shares a fantastic one to kick off our episode on lactose intolerance. In this episode, we explore what lactose is and the symptoms that lactose non-digesters experience when they eat some sneaky cheese...
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March 2, 2020

Ep 45 Hepatitis C: Hepatiti?
From its discovery only 30 years ago to the recent development of an effective treatment, the short life of the Hepatitis C virus certainly has been action-packed. This week, we take you through the biology of this deadly virus by exploring its cancer-causing qualities and pondering the plural of he...
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February 18, 2020

Ep 44 Pertussis: Whoop Here It Is
[TRIGGER WARNING: see below] Whooping cough, that terrible childhood scourge, has been making an alarming comeback due to lapses in vaccination coverage across the globe. And in this episode, we’ll tell you why exactly its return is a cause for concern. From the devastation it wreaks on the bo...
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February 4, 2020

Ep 43 M-m-m-my Coronaviruses
What better time to explore the world of coronaviruses than amidst an outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus that brings to mind memories of SARS and MERS? On this very special episode of This Podcast Will Kill You, we’ll take you through what we know about this diverse group of viruses, from the m...
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January 21, 2020

Ep 42 Dandy Dengue Fever
Our first vector-borne disease episode of season 3 and our first mosquito-borne pathogen in quite some time, dengue virus proves itself to be more than a worthy topic (and quite a formidable adversary in terms of public health). This week we are joined by Dr. Alex Trillo who drops some firsthand kn...
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January 7, 2020

Ep 41 Ricin: A Bad Seed
Have you missed learning about plant poisons? Well, it’s your lucky day! Today is our first crossover of season three with our friend Matt Candeias of In Defense of Plants. In this episode we delve into the castor bean plant  Ricinus communis and its two notorious products: castor oil and the ...
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December 24, 2019

Ep 40 Dancing Plague: Worst Dance Party Ever
In 1518 a strange sight could be seen all over the town of Strasbourg. Crowds of people dancing unceasingly, unable to control their movements, seemingly heedless of their blistered and bloodied feet. As the contagious dance grew, so did the body count as the frenzied dancers succumbed to exhaustion...
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December 10, 2019

Ep 39 Toxoplasmosis: Calling All Cats
You’ve seen the headlines: could this cat-associated parasite be controlling your every move? Is the love you have for cats pure or merely a manipulation? Join us as we discuss  Toxoplasma gondii , the feline-associated parasite that infects a whopping one third of all humans. Yes, you read th...
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November 26, 2019

Ep 38 Lead Poisoning: Heavy Metal Episode
This episode, our first foray into toxic metals, is heavy in all kinds of ways - metallically, emotionally, informationally, politically. Lead poisoning has been around for about as long humans have been working with lead, but despite its extensive history, it still poses an incredibly huge public h...
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November 12, 2019

Ep 37 E. coli (unless it's beets)
E. coli . Such a short name for such a massive topic. This episode we explore the delightful diversity of  Escherichia coli , the ubiquitous bacterium that predates humans and can range in virulence anywhere from “you won’t even know I’m there” to “this is really, really, really gonna hurt”. ...
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October 29, 2019

Ep 36 Shades of Syphilis
That’s right, we’re back! And we’re starting off with a bang. Syphilis, aka the Great Imitator, is the subject of today’s long-awaited episode, and it’s got everything you could imagine. When you woke up today, were you hoping to learn about how this spirochete can invade all of your body’s organs? ...
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September 3, 2019

Ep 35 Lyme Disease: I'd like to check you for ticks
For our last episode of this season, we’re going out with a bang, or should we say bite? This week we’re tackling the doozy of a disease called Lyme, the most prevalent tick-borne infection in the northern hemisphere. Tune in to hear us navigate the complicated biology of Borrelia burgdoferi, delve...
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August 20, 2019

Ep 34 Cystic Fibrosis: Complete Somatic Rebellion
Despite being one of the most common genetic disorders, affecting millions of people worldwide, cystic fibrosis evaded medical description for thousands of years after its first appearance. But the last century has led to a revolution in diagnosis, treatment, and our understanding of the disease. T...
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August 6, 2019

Ep 33 Chytrid: The Silent Forest
Walking through a forest at dusk, you’ve likely heard the croaks and groans of frogs and toads forming a chorus in the damp undergrowth. But what if the forest were suddenly, inexplicably, silent? In the 1980s scientists started noticing the forests becoming quieter as amphibian populations around ...
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July 23, 2019

Ep 32 Ask the Erins
What exactly is disease ecology anyway? How did  TPWKY come to be? How do we come up with our quarantinis? What’s our favorite pathogen? In this very special episode, you get to hear exactly what you’ve been asking for -- literally. Today we answer listener questions and don’t hold anything back. Fr...
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July 9, 2019

Ep 31 Giardia: Gerardia
Giardia may be the most common intestinal parasite in the US and one of the most common worldwide, but did you know it was only in the last 40 years that it was officially recognized as a human pathogen?! In today’s episode, we’ll travel back to a time before humans knew microbes even existed to dis...
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June 25, 2019

Ep 30 Encephalitis Lethargica: Sleep Perchance to Dream (& Dream & Dream)
Imagine this: a sickness where millions fell into a deep slumber from which they never woke. Of those that did, many remained trapped in a cage of their own bodies, unable to move or speak but fully aware of the world around them. Imagine that this sickness appeared suddenly, without warning, and sp...
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June 11, 2019

Ep 29 Aspirin the Wonder Drug: Crossover w/ IDOP
On this very special crossover episode with our friend Matt Candeias from In Defense of Plants, we’re switching things up from poison to remedy, focusing on the plant-derived wonder drug, aspirin! We cover the ancient use of salicylic acid-containing willow bark to relieve pain and fevers and then r...
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May 28, 2019

Ep 28 H. pylori: Don't try this at home
This week's episode comes with a warning: don't attempt this at home. While self-experimentation has led to many a scientific breakthrough, we're definitely not advocating it. But it happened to work out for the best for Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, even earning them a Nobel prize. That’s right...
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May 21, 2019

Ep 27 Vaccines Part 2: Have you thanked your immune system lately?
Were you stoked about the history and biology of vaccines we covered in part 1, but left with even more questions? Were you really hoping to hear us talk about anti-vaccine sentiment and address misconceptions about vaccines in detail? Did you want even more expert guest insight?! Well then do we h...
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May 14, 2019

Ep 26 Vaccines part 1: Let's hear it for Maurice
The wait is finally over: this week we are very excited to bring you the episode we’ve been teasing for weeks: vaccines! This week and next (you don’t have to wait a full two weeks for the next episode!), we are presenting a two-part series on vaccines. In today’s episode, we dive deep into the bio...
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April 30, 2019

Ep 25 Put your hands together for: Gonorrhea!
This bug deserves a big round of applause and not just because it’s nicknamed “The Clap”. Check out this week’s episode to gasp in wonder at the tricks that Neisseria gonorrhoeae uses to tiptoe past your immune system. Then prepare to cringe at some old-timey treatments for the disease while we trac...
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April 16, 2019

Ep 24 Zika: Rumors and Rumours
Zika virus may not have as long and storied a history as many diseases we've covered, but in a short time it has managed to make a big impression. Today we'll talk about how Zika wriggled its way out of obscurity and cover its journey from a mosquito's mouth straight to our newspaper headlines. From...
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April 2, 2019

Ep 23 Opening a can of Hookworms
Today we’re taking a bite out of hookworm, our first macroparasite. We start, as all hookworm journeys must, from the dewy grass, where larvae burrow into your exposed flesh and make their long and winding way to your guts, where the eggs of a fortunate few will be immortalized in fossilized poop. ...
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March 19, 2019

Ep 22 Belladonna will dilate your mind: Crossover w/ IDOP
Are you ready to dilate your mind? Or at least your eyes? We hope so, because that means you’re ready for another Poisoncast episode! This week we’re joined by our friend Matt Candeias from In Defense of Plants to chat about Atropa belladonna, a lethal yet beautiful plant that lives up to all of it...
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March 5, 2019

Ep 21 Measles: The Worst Souvenir
You’ve seen the recent headlines and heard the news reports, but they’re only part of this deadly virus’s story. This week we’re covering the rest. We take you on a one-of-a-kind tour of measles, exploring how this vaccine-preventable virus can wriggle its way into your cells and cause short-term mi...
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February 19, 2019

Ep 20 Prions: Apocalypse Cow
This week's episode is nothing like any of our past episodes, and there will never be another quite like it. How can we be so sure, you ask? Because this week, we're covering prions, the terrifying, genetic material-less infection that is 100% fatal and caused by nothing more than a humble protein....
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February 5, 2019

Ep 19 Scurvy: Thanks a lot, evolution.
Arr, mateys, climb aboard for a swash-buckling tale of when the high seas were full of disease! Today we’re covering a non-infectious but no less terrifying scourge that has wrecked millions of lives and sent even the bravest of sailors quivering in their boots: Scurvy. From the open ocean to the Ca...
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January 22, 2019

Ep 18 Hantavirus: The Real Rat Race
What do Korea, Slovenia, Finland, and the southwestern US all have in common? If you guessed Hantaviruses, you’d be quite correct. Today we bring you all the details on hantaviruses, from the deadly and terrifying hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, to the less lethal but still horrifying hemorrhagic fev...
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January 8, 2019

Ep 17 Oh No Tetrodo: Crossover w/ TBOSP
Are you hungry for braaaaiiiinnnnssss? Or for fugu at the very least? We hope so, because this week we’re talking zombies and tetrodotoxin. In this crossover episode with Dr. Shane Campbell-Staton from The Biology of Superheroes Podcast, we trace the origin of the modern pop culture zombie back to i...
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December 24, 2018

Ep 16 Scratch and Sniff Diphtheria Membrane
This episode is so good that we’re putting it out a full day early. Pour yourself a quarantini and cozy up with us as we tell you a story of a bacterium that slowly strangles children to death, a scientific quest that helped shape the understanding of infectious diseases, and a great dog sled race a...
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December 11, 2018

Ep 15 MRSA: Make Resistance Susceptible Again
We've gotten pretty graphic on this podcast before, but this episode takes it to a whole new level. The omnipresent Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that wears many faces. Often that face is harmless, but Staph has the power to invade and infect nearly every organ of the body, leaving destructi...
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November 27, 2018

Ep 14 Rabies: Don't dilute me, bro
After a long hiatus we are back with a much anticipated look at one of the most feared diseases of all time: rabies. We cover everything from its evolutionary history to its massive case fatality rate, from why it makes you slobber so much to how Pliny the Elder thought you should treat it (spoiler:...
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February 27, 2018

Ep 13 Don't Tread on my Monkshood: Crossover w/ IDOP
What's the difference between a physician and a pretender, a magician and a poisoner? That's a question we'll try and answer in today's episode! We are very excited to bring you our first botanical poison crossover episode with our good friend Matt Candeias of the awesome podcast and website, In De...
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January 29, 2018

Special Episode: HIV/AIDS
The cherry on top of our first season, this bonus episode features more of Frank, Hillel, and Brryan's stories. Frank and Hillel, who live on opposite coasts of the US, share what it was like for them to live through through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 90s. Brryan and Hillel also sha...
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January 22, 2018

Ep 12 HIV/AIDS: Apathy Will Kill You
This is it, y'all: the season finale. This week we’re talking about HIV/AIDS, one of the biggest pandemics of modern times. We were fortunate enough to speak with three individuals who have had vastly different experiences with HIV/AIDS. Frank Iamelli, who took care of many of his friends throughout...
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January 15, 2018

Ep 11 Ebola: The New Kid on the Block
Let's face it. This is the episode you've been waiting for. Are you ready for one of the most publicized epidemics of the century? Because we're ready to tell you about it. Ebola has been in the scientific consciousness since 1976, but why did it take an outbreak of epic proportions for you, dear li...
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January 8, 2018

Ep 10 Yellow Fever: Is there a Hamilton song about this?
Today we're talking about yellow fever, a disease with a history as colorful as its name, and a vector as pretty as a picture (depending on whom you ask, I suppose). From an epidemic that decimated Memphis, Tennessee in the late 1800s, to the development of the vaccine, to where the offending mosqui...
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January 1, 2018

Ep 9 Tuberculosis: A Slow Burn
Today, we’re taking a page straight out of Dickens and talking about tuberculosis- a disease as rich in history as it is in bloody sputum. We'll travel the path of an individual Mycobacterium tuberculosis as it makes it way down the respiratory tract of its victim and waits patiently, hidden and unt...
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December 18, 2017

Ep 8 ABRACADABRA - Go Away Malaria!
It's both a disease of dinosaurs and a plague of people. A gin and tonic might make you forget how much those bites itch, but it won't protect you much from this mosquito-borne monster. That's right people, today we're talking about malaria! We're super excited to tell you about this parasite since ...
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December 11, 2017

Ep 7 Hit Me With Your Best (Polio) Shot
A scientific rivalry for the ages, a president with a closely kept secret, and a summertime with no pool time. What do all these things have in common? Well step right up and take a listen- today we're talking about polio, that virus that just won't quit. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri...
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December 4, 2017

Ep 6 Plague Part 2: TGFA
We're back with another episode all about plague-TGFA: Thank Goodness For Antibiotics! Today we'll focus on the status of plague in the modern world: where it is, where it isn't, and what we can do about it. And as always, we'll let you know whether or not to put on your scaredy pants. See Privacy ...
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November 27, 2017

Ep 5 Plague Part 1: The GMOAT
That's right y'all... Today we're talking the GMOAT: The GREATEST MORTALITY OF ALL TIME: BLACK DEATH. This episode we'll cover the biology and history of one of the most epic diseases of all time- Yersinia pestis the causative agent of plague. It's such an epic topic in fact, that you'll have to tun...
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November 20, 2017

Ep 4 The Poop Show
That's right.. this is the poop show! Today we talk cholera- the bacterial disease that makes you liquid-poop your pants (and then some). Travel back in time with us to when London was a sewage-filled cesspool until the Original John Snow stepped in to save the day and created the field of epidemiol...
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November 13, 2017

Ep 3 Gnarlypox
This week we pay tribute to one of the gnarliest diseases of all time, and the only human disease that's ever been eradicated (thus far). That's right, people- we're talking smallpox! It's gonna get grody. Smallpox has a depressing history, a fascinating biology, a moderately uplifting present, and ...
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November 6, 2017

Ep 2 Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race
This week we tackle leprosy. That biblical (or is it?) infection that, believe it or not, is still with us today. Leprosy has an ancient history that exemplifies some of the worst of human behavior, and its present day status may surprise you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cal...
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October 30, 2017

Ep 1 Influenza Will Kill You
In Episode 1 we're talking all things flu, just in time for the start of flu season! We'll dive into the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed literally millions of people, then talk about the state of influenza in the world today, and tell you everything you need to know about how the flu virus works...
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October 23, 2017

Episode 0 - TPWKY Season 1 Trailer
Welcome to This Podcast Will Kill You, your new favorite way to learn about disease biology, history, and stuff to gross out your dinner party guests. Join us October 31st for Episode 1 of Season 1- "The Plagues You Know"! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notic...
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