logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
34m 45s

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Wnyc Studios
About this episode
Today, a story that starts small and private, with one woman alone in her bathroom, as she makes a quiet, startling discovery about her own body. But that small, private moment grows and grows, and pretty soon it becomes something so big that it has impacted the life of every person reading this right now… and all that without the woman ever even knowing the ... Show More
Up next
Aug 28
Dolly Parton's America: Sad Ass Songs
The world lost a legend recently, and we wanted in some small way to pay tribute to the great Dolly Parton. So we’re playing you an episode from a series we had a small part in back in 2017, Dolly Parton’s America. The series kicked off with a simple question: How did the queen o ... Show More
1h 4m
Aug 21
Patient Zero
The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center—someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero—the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, Radiolab digs up an episode w ... Show More
51m 33s
Aug 14
Nigel and the Real Gannet
In 2016, Chris Bell, a ranger with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, was the sole human inhabitant of a small island off the west coast of the country, called Mana Island. He was there to take care of the island’s fragile and recovering ecosystem, including a colony of Au ... Show More
25m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2020
Glow
At the intersection of scientific advancement and tragedy is the story of US Radium and the young women who stood up to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
27m 29s
Jan 2021
Outside/In: Everybody Knows Somebody
In the mid-1980's a woman who didn't consider herself a feminist was asked to solve perhaps the biggest problem women face. How she and a small group of people seized on that rare moment and fought back in the hopes that something could finally be done.See pcm.adswizz.com for inf ... Show More
57m 55s
Mar 2022
Day Twenty-Seven: The Lessons We Learn
India travels back to the Victorian Age to probe at the use of the vaginal speculum and considers its link to menstrual shame and embarrassment, particularly in education. India then meets Chella Quint, founder of the Period Positive Movement, and also Professor Chris Bobel, who ... Show More
14 m
Mar 2018
The Woman And The War
This is the story of a woman who lost her father, and in the grieving process, stumbled onto something horrible. She could have kept it a secret, but she decided to spread a message that inspired millions. Season 1 of The Story features 12 women trailblazers who changed the world ... Show More
12m 59s
Jan 2020
Everybody Knows Somebody
In the mid-1980's a woman who didn't consider herself a feminist was asked to solve perhaps the biggest problem women face. How she and a small group of people seized on that rare moment and fought back in the hopes that something could finally be done.See pcm.adswizz.com for inf ... Show More
57m 34s
Mar 2022
Day One: Power
India Rakusen journeys into the womb with Dr Dornu Lebari and Dr Jackie Maybin. We peel back the layers and meet the fallopian tubes, ovaries, cervix and the endometrium. India is also joined by Dr Elinor Cleghorn to discuss the ancient theories of wandering wombs, evil uteruses ... Show More
14m 55s
Aug 2022
51: She’s in OUR DNA?! Who is Henrietta Lacks?
Welcome to the Dark History podcast. One of my favorite things about this podcast is learning about all kinds of people I had no idea even existed. And today’s story is exactly one of those. In this week’s episode we are going to discuss the story of Henrietta Lacks. Who’s that y ... Show More
50m 48s
Feb 2019
Inheritance
<p>Author Dani Shapiro reveals what it was like to, by chance, discover a shocking secret about herself, and what this secret taught her about identity, family, and new beginnings.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">http ... Show More
15m 42s
Jun 2022
The truth about finding your passion
It's easy to get stuck in the mundane. But in this episode of Thick & Thin, I use the life story of chemist Marie Curie to reignite my desire to discover what I'm truly passionate about. // Follow me on IG: instagram.com/katybellotte / Sources: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKup_0 ... Show More
37m 12s
May 2017
Prologue
Step into iconic relationship therapist Esther Perel's office and listen as 10 anonymous couples in search of insight bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their story. From infidelity to sexlessness to loss, it's a space for people to be heard and understood. It's also ... Show More
2m 16s