“I have discovered something interesting, but I do not know whether or not my observations are correct.” With these words, Wilhelm Röntgen introduced the world to an invisible power, a power which would in turn be used to both harm and heal. This week, we take a tour of the wide world of radiation, starting with a primer on what radiation actually is and how ... Show More
Mar 24
Ep 204 Cancer Part 3: How do we treat it?
A century and a half ago, the list of effective cancer treatments was essentially a single entry: surgery. Today, in 2026, you’d need pages to contain the number of treatments available, and multiple notebooks to delineate all of the various therapies currently in development. It ... Show More
1h 32m
Mar 17
Special Episode: Lawrence Ingrassia & A Fatal Inheritance
For centuries, physicians noticed that cancer sometimes ran in families, but until the 1960s, an answer to this mystery remained out of reach. Only then were scientists beginning to unlock the cellular dynamics underlying cancer, and what they found finally allowed grief-stricken ... Show More
45m 30s
Mar 10
Ep 203 Cancer Part 2: Why does it happen?
Each of our cells can become cancerous. It’s an uncomfortable, yet unavoidable truth. Nor is it a truth restricted to our species - cancer is a consequence of complex life. The features that make a cell cancerous are those that, under other circumstances, are beneficial, essentia ... Show More
1h 18m
May 2022
Episode 83: Radiation Oncology: The Past, Present, and Future
Ralph Weichselbaum, MD, the Daniel K. Ludwig Distinguished Service Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago, is the guest of honor on today’s show focusing on radiation oncology as a discipline: the changes that have occurred over the years, the s ... Show More
1h 10m
Jun 2021
X-rays: New ways of seeing
The discovery of X-rays by the German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 was nothing short of ground-breaking, opening up a new era in medicine. For the first time, doctors could see inside the human body without the need for surgery, and diagnose many more living patients. X-ray ... Show More
39m 45s
Apr 2018
Nuclear War... Total Annihilation?
Nine countries, including North Korea, have nuclear weapons. What would happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped-- say, in New York City? We talk to nuclear historian Dr. Alex Wellerstein, nuclear engineer Dr. Tetsuji Imanaka, and epidemiologist Dr. Eric Grant. UPDATE 04/27: We've ad ... Show More
34m 4s
Jul 2016
How Radiation Sickness Works
<p>Fortunately, science has very few instances where humans have been exposed to acute radiation poisoning to study for clues to treating radiation sickness. They have found, though, that those few instances have been grave.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href ... Show More
47m 9s
