Listeners of this podcast are likely no strangers to the horrifying history of eugenics, a topic that has made an appearance in our episodes on epilepsy, Huntington’s disease, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, and many others. We have touched on eugenic policies that prohibited marriage, encouraged and permitted forced sterilization, and restricted immigration ... Show More
Jan 20
Ep 198 Sleep Part 1: Sleeping with one eye open
Sleep is a universal experience. It’s not just the lion that sleeps tonight - it’s also the butterfly, the chicken, the jellyfish, the dog, the snake, the worm, and of course the human. What is this widespread physiological process whose spell we are all under? What purpose (or p ... Show More
1h 14m
Jan 13
Special Episode: Daniel Stone & American Poison
The widespread use of leaded gasoline in the 20th century led to one of the world’s biggest public health and environmental disasters, the effects of which are still present today. Since its development in the 1920s, leaded gasoline has been linked to premature death, cognitive i ... Show More
57m 32s
Jan 6
Ep 197 Detox: Enemas for everyone
Ah, the new year. After the last month and a half of indulgent food and drink, disrupted schedules, and laying around the house, who doesn’t feel like they’re in need of a whole-body cleanse? There are plenty of companies who are more than happy to provide that product or service ... Show More
1h 16m
Apr 2022
The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine
While season 4 of Chasing Life is in production, the team is sharing some of their favorite podcasts. First up, The Pulse from WHYY, a weekly health and science podcast and radio show.
On this episode, host Maiken Scott dives into the changing conversation about race and ethnicit ... Show More
49m 40s
Mar 2023
The Origins of Inequality (Angela Saini)
<p>“People have always fought against anyone trying to impose power on them or trying to assert their status on them. That is true right throughout history, from written records onwards, certainly, you know, we have evidence of it, even in some of the most misogynistic societies ... Show More
1 h
May 2023
Mayim Bialik On: Anxiety, Anger, Believing in Both Neuroscience and God, and the Pressures of Being a Teen TV Star
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>Historically on this show, we want guests who either have skills that they can teach us (i.e. meditation teachers or happiness rese ... Show More
59m 12s
Jun 2022
The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p><em>---</em></p> <p>It seems like a design flaw in our species that we live in a world of constant change yet most of us are not comfortable w ... Show More
59m 30s
Apr 2023
Cristina Mejia Visperas, "Skin Theory: Visual Culture and the Postwar Prison Laboratory" (NYU, 2022)
An abolitionist approach to STS and the history of the life sciences: this is the model that Cristina Mejia Visperas offers in her book, Skin Theory: Visual Culture and the Postwar Prison Laboratory (NYU 2022). By now, scientists’ experiments on captive men at Philadelphia’s Holm ... Show More
56m 32s
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p><em>---</em></p> <p>Our ability to focus is not lost, it's just changing. Here's what we can adapt.</p> <p>Here's a horrifying fact: the avera ... Show More
