May 14, 1796. Edward Jenner puts a theory to the test: can contracting one disease save you from another? Jenner goes down in history as the man who brought us one of the greatest advances in modern medicine: the vaccine. Its discovery led to the eradication of smallpox, a virus that killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century alone and one of ... Show More
Nov 24
A Meteorite Hits Ann Hodges
November 30, 1954. At about 12:45 in the afternoon, a space rock comes plummeting through the roof of a house in Sylacauga, Alabama. It bounces off a stand-up radio, ricochets around the living room, and collides with the thigh of Mrs. Ann Hodges, who’s been napping on the couch. ... Show More
37m 23s
Nov 17
Ken Burns Reimagines the American Revolution | A Conversation with Ken Burns & Sarah Botstein
November 16, 1776. George Washington rows toward Manhattan to inspect the fort that bears his name, only to meet a full-scale British assault already underway. By afternoon, Fort Washington has fallen, and General Washington is forced to abandon New York City.
The Continental A ... Show More
38m 45s
Nov 10
The Grinnell 14 Take On the Bomb (feat. Peter Coyote)
November 16, 1961. Fourteen college students from Iowa have driven nearly a thousand miles to the White House. They’re fasting, protesting, and calling for an end to nuclear bomb testing. These students, later known as the Grinnell 14, will help ignite the student peace movement ... Show More
27m 56s
Dec 2023
AIDS Epidemic: Life & Death On The Frontline
<p>How do we understand something as huge as a global epidemic?</p><br><p>Similarly to Covid, the AIDS epidemic, which was most destructive in the 1980s and 90s, had such universal reach. Yet within that, there were millions of personal experiences.</p><br><p>What was it like to ... Show More
59m 33s
Oct 2021
La course au vaccin | Ceci n’est pas un exercice | 1
Début janvier 2020 : un mystérieux virus vient de faire son apparition dans la ville de Wuhan, au centre de la Chine. Si, au départ, l’épidémie ne fait pas les gros titres, face à sa propagation rapide des scientifiques prennent très vite conscience de la menace que ce virus repr ... Show More
26m 18s
Apr 2021
Coronavirus: How Scary Are the Variants?
UPDATE 4/13/21: Since this episode published, there has been some evidence linking the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to rare blood clots. As of April 13, there were six cases in the U.S. out of more than 6.8 million doses, and one person had died. The CDC and FDA have rec ... Show More
33m 54s
Jan 2022
Gregory Zuckerman on the Crazy Race to Create the COVID Vaccine
<p>In the race for a COVID vaccine, how did a couple of companies who had never produced a successful vaccine make it to the finish line so quickly? Gregory Zuckerman talks about his book, <i>A Shot to Save the World</i>, with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the daring, deranged, ... Show More
1h 22m