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
Yesterday
Parting the Desert Between Two Seas
April 25, 1859. About 150 people have gathered on the shores of Lake Manzala in Egypt. And one of them, a mustachioed, retired French diplomat, steps forward. He raises his pickaxe and strikes a ceremonial blow. The audacious goal is to cut through the desert to connect the Medit ... Show More
36m 10s
Apr 20
One Eco-Arson After Another: The Earth Liberation Front
April 20th, 2004. A quiet suburban development outside Seattle. Brand-new homes. Fresh lawns not yet grown in. Then, in the middle of the night—sirens. Flames ripping through two houses. Investigators quickly find the cause: homemade incendiary devices. And a message, left behind ... Show More
34m 2s
Apr 13
Jefferson’s Trade War Shuts Down America
April 18, 1806. In his study, President Thomas Jefferson signs a law that doesn’t look like an act of war. It bans imports. Leather. Silk. Glass. Playing cards. A strange list. A quiet move. But Jefferson is trying to confront one of the most powerful empires in the world, withou ... Show More
28m 30s
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
<p>As the first in a series on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven Johnson speaks with <a href="https://www.sabin.org/leadership#BG" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Bruce Gellin</a>, president of Global Immunization at the<a href="https://www.influenzer.org" rel= ... Show More
