Several top public health experts have resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing a troubling shift away from science-based decision-making. Former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Demetre Daskalakis joins host Rachel Feltman to explain how political ideology is reshaping vaccine policy ... Show More
Jun 8
World Cup health monitoring ramps up as Mars mission ends and AI rules shift
In this episode of Science Quickly, we look at how World Cup host cities are tracking potential disease outbreaks with wastewater surveillance, discuss the loss of NASA’s long-running MAVEN orbiter at Mars, unpack a new order pushing AI companies to share models with the governme ... Show More
9m 15s
Jun 5
What’s in a name? When it comes to PCOS, a lot
In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman interviews physician Anuja Dokras about the long road to changing the name of the condition PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS. The conversation covers why “PCOS” was mis ... Show More
15m 58s
Feb 2025
Tuberculosis Outbreak, RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings and Polar Bear Hair
This week we’re recapping Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s confirmation hearings. Highly pathogenic H5N9, a strain of bird flu, was found in U.S. poultry. A tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas is making headlines—but how severe is the spread? Health equity reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga ... Show More
11m 44s
Oct 2025
Global Superbugs Surge, Chikungunya Hits Long Island, and Satellites Leak Data
This week on Science Quickly, we cover the global rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a rare U.S. case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus and new research on anti-inflammatory supplements. Plus, scientists warn of satellite vulnerabilities—from Earth’s weakening magnetic ... Show More
8m 52s
Oct 2025
Nobel Prizes, COVID Vaccine Updates and Malnutrition in Gaza
This week on Science Quickly, we break down the 2025 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine, Physics and Chemistry. We also unpack the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s shifting COVID vaccine guidance, a controversial call to split the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ... Show More
8m 40s
Mar 2023
Heidi J. Larson, "Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start--and Why They Don't Go Away" (Oxford UP, 2020)
Vaccine reluctance and refusal are no longer limited to the margins of society. Debates around vaccines' necessity -- along with questions around their side effects -- have gone mainstream, blending with geopolitical conflicts, political campaigns, celebrity causes, and "natural" ... Show More
47m 44s
Feb 2025
Measles Outbreaks, Asteroid Risks and Fish Friends
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is emitting near-constant, random light. The European Space Agency has approved astronaut candidate John McFall, making McFall the first physically disabled candidate to be cleared to fly. The risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth rose ... Show More
7m 20s