The Necessity of Patient Zero

In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the psychological, economic and decision theory phenomenon known as ambiguity aversion. Find out how it relates to the Ellsberg paradox, madman theory and the balance of power in our world. (orignally publ ... Show More

In this special omnibus episode of The Monstrefact, Robert discusses several creatures from the imagined worlds of Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the faunal boundary line between Asia and Australia known as the Wallace Line and the British naturalist it was named for, Alfred Russel Wallace. (orignally published 8/21/2025)See omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More

Patient Zero is a new podcast from ABC Science and RN that tells the stories of disease outbreaks: where they begin, why they happen and how we found ourselves in the middle of a really big one. 

<p>“Patient Zero”, Taylor Quimby’s podcast series about Lyme disease, takes a deep dive into the complexity surrounding this disease. He explores the origin of Lyme, and how some of the earliest Lyme patients took matters into their own hands, becoming citizen scientists and advo ... Show More

What happens when teenagers are shipwrecked on a deserted island? Can you find the fingerprint of God in warzones? Why was the concept of zero so revolutionary for humanity? A year into a pandemic that has completely upended the lives of people around the world, we look at how we ... Show More

<p>In today&apos;s different type of episode, we talk about the risks of a subtle kind of scientific misinformation.</p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse">Support the show</a></p> 

REBROADCAST: This episode looks at how one of the worst ideas in science got a big push from a bad study… and intellectuals of the day lapped it up. We speak to science writer Carl Zimmer and Prof. J. David Smith, whose research helped get to the bottom of this messed-up story. C ... Show More

Sam Harris speaks with Michael Osterholm about his new book, The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics. They discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the major mistakes made in the public health response—including lockdowns, school closures, and ... Show More

Scientists don’t understand why so many people suffer from Covid-19 symptoms for months, well after they stop testing positive. But that’s just the start of the mystery. There are other diseases that cast these long shadows, and they point to a major blind spot in medicine. For m ... Show More