logo
episode-header-image
Aug 22
1h 1m

The Medical Matchmaking Machine

Wnyc Studios
About this episode
As he finished his medical school exam, David Fajgenbaum felt off.  He walked down to the ER and checked himself in.  Soon he was in the ICU with multiple organ failure.  The only drug for his condition didn’t work. He had months to live, if that.  If he was going to survive, he was going to have to find his own cure. Miraculously, he pulled it off in the ni ... Show More
Up next
Nov 21
Our Common Nature: West Virginia Coal
<p>Today on the show, we’re bringing you an episode from <a href="https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d" target="_blank"><i>Our Common Nature</i></a> (https://link.podtrac.com/v7mx144d), a new podcast series where cellist Yo-Yo Ma and host Ana González travel around the United States ... Show More
53m 33s
Nov 14
Quantum Refuge
<p>Qasem Waleed is a 28-year-old physicist who has lived in Gaza his whole life. In 2024, he joined a chorus of Palestinians sharing videos and pictures and writing about the chaos and violence they were living through, as Israel’s military bombardment devastated their lives. But ... Show More
48m 17s
Nov 7
The Wubi Effect
<p>When we think of China today, we think of a technological superpower. From Huawei and 5G to TikTok and viral social media, China is stride for stride with the United States in the world of computing. However, China’s technological renaissance almost didn’t happen. And for one ... Show More
56m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 8
How nearly dying helped me discover my own cure (and many more) | David Fajgenbaum
<p>Physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease that didn't have a cure — until he discovered a lifesaving drug that wasn't originally intended for his condition. In an astonishing talk, he shares how his near-death experience led him to cofound the nonprofi ... Show More
15m 33s
Sep 8
How nearly dying helped me discover my own cure (and many more) | David Fajgenbaum
<p>Physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease that didn't have a cure — until he discovered a lifesaving drug that wasn't originally intended for his condition. In an astonishing talk, he shares how his near-death experience led him to cofound the nonprofi ... Show More
15m 33s
Nov 2023
“On My Own”—Desperate to Stop a Resistant Bacterial Infection
Bradley Burnam woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and found one ear twice it’s normal size and his face swollen and discolored. He would spend the next several years in and out of the hospital fighting a relentless infection that would not respond to available treatments. ... Show More
27m 42s
Sep 24
10. The woman who discovered the opiate receptor in the brain + someone is LIVING in the lab?
🧠 welcome to the LAST episode of OVERLOOKED, the series where we shine a light on the women in STEM who history often left in the shadows. For our last episode, we’re talking all about Candace Pert, the groundbreaking neuroscientist who discovered the opioid receptor. Her work n ... Show More
44m 47s
Sep 9
A Special Re-Release: Case #17: Every Cure Pt.1 (Dr. David Fajgenbaum)
We’re celebrating Dr. David Fajgenbaum and revisiting one of our most impactful stories. David was just named to the TIME100 Health list and has a powerful new TED Talk—milestones that reflect the empathy, curiosity, and determination at the heart of his work. Once a college quar ... Show More
42m 26s
Apr 2025
Melanie Klein, Symbol Formation, and Autism: A Psychoanalytic Conversation with Dr. Ben Morsa
<p>What happens when the ego fails to form a symbol? In this episode of Acid Horizon, we&apos;re joined by Dr. Ben Morsa, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic thinker working at the intersection of queer theory, neurodiversity, and mental health. Together, we dive into Mela ... Show More
1h 18m
Sep 17
Human Technomorphology (SWAPPING OUT BODY PARTS) with Mary Roach
<p>Pigs with human kidneys. Iron lungs. Bionic prostheses. And bendable genitals. Mary Roach is here, and Alie is freaking out. Over the last two decades, this science icon has written seven New York Times bestsellers, including <i>Stiff</i>, <i>Bonk</i>, <i>Gulp</i>, and <i>Pack ... Show More
57m 48s
Feb 2025
Can You Inherit Trauma - And If So, Can You Inherit Healing?
JVN sits down with journalist and author James Longman to explore one of the most fascinating questions in mental health: can you inherit trauma? Drawing from his deeply personal journey and his new book The Inherited Mind, James unpacks the science behind genetic predisposition, ... Show More
55m 47s
Jun 2024
#25 - AJ Jacobs - The Power of Social Experimentation
<p>How literally should we take the US Constitution? What about the bible? Should we experiment with radical honesty with strangers? Those are just some of the questions human guinea pig A.J. Jacobs spends his life trying to answer. An author and journalist, he regularly immerse ... Show More
1h 39m