Think of an infectious disease. What comes to mind? A viral infection like influenza? Or a bacterial illness like cholera? Maybe some of you thought of a fungal pathogen or a parasite. But how many of you thought of a cancer? In this episode, we explore the bizarre, stranger than fiction story of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a transmissible cancer that ... Show More
Yesterday
Ep 204 Cancer Part 3: How do we treat it?
A century and a half ago, the list of effective cancer treatments was essentially a single entry: surgery. Today, in 2026, you’d need pages to contain the number of treatments available, and multiple notebooks to delineate all of the various therapies currently in development. It ... Show More
1h 32m
Mar 17
Special Episode: Lawrence Ingrassia & A Fatal Inheritance
For centuries, physicians noticed that cancer sometimes ran in families, but until the 1960s, an answer to this mystery remained out of reach. Only then were scientists beginning to unlock the cellular dynamics underlying cancer, and what they found finally allowed grief-stricken ... Show More
45m 30s
Mar 10
Ep 203 Cancer Part 2: Why does it happen?
Each of our cells can become cancerous. It’s an uncomfortable, yet unavoidable truth. Nor is it a truth restricted to our species - cancer is a consequence of complex life. The features that make a cell cancerous are those that, under other circumstances, are beneficial, essentia ... Show More
1h 18m
May 2025
Your Brain On... Lyme Disease
A tiny bite from a tiny tick can trigger a complex disease which speaks to some huge problems with our healthcare system. In this episode, we explain the biology, controversy, and cultural blind spots around Lyme disease, a condition that reflects much more than just a bacterial ... Show More
50m 20s
Jul 2024
COVID-19 cases, West Nile news, plus new Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer screening blood tests
How is Alzheimer's diagnosed? Is there a new blood test for colon cancer? Is West Nile virus deadly? Is West Nile virus curable? How bad is COVID right now? Our guest is American Medical Association Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH. AM ... Show More
11m 32s
Mar 2012
Genes and evolution - from populations to tumours
From whole populations to individual cancers, we're taking a look at genes and evolution. We're also talking about dogs and their diseases, shining a light on Van Gogh's sunflowers, and wondering whether the USB-sized DNA sequence is hope or hype. Plus we've got our gene of the m ... Show More
32m 40s
Jun 2025
Information Inoculation: Defending Against Medical Myths: The real reason polio is so dangerous | Dan Kwartler
In 1952, polio was everywhere: killing or paralyzing roughly half a million people annually. Yet just 10 years later, paralytic polio cases in the US dropped by 96% and we were on track to get rid of polio for good. But in recent years, the virus started striking back. So, what’s ... Show More
34m 45s
Sep 2021
The Elephant in the Room: What About HIV?
For more than a year now, COVID has been society’s focus—and rightly so. But today we turn our attention to another virus—HIV. After 40 years, there is still no cure or a vaccine for the disease. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Anthony Fauci and CEO of innovative company Americ ... Show More
29m 48s