
Ep 165 Fish Tongue Parasite: Parasite Appreciation Hour
11 February - 1 hour 2 minsOkay everyone, think about your tongue. Maybe move it around a bit, check in with it, consider what it means to you. Now imagine that your tongue suddenly shriveled up and fell off and that in its place is a tongue-sized isopod aka rollie pollie aka pillbug. Just there, hanging out, forever. How are you feeling? Horrified? Disgusted? Hey, we get it. But at least you’ll never be alone again. Believe it or not, this is not some bad creative writing exercise. This is a very real parasite. In fact, it’s not just one but a whole group of them. Fortunately for us humans, these tongue-replacing isopods don’t target mammals but rather various fish species (unfortunately for the fish). And in this we...

Ep 164 Rift Valley Fever: Ruminating on ruminants
Hemorrhagic virus? Check. Deadly disease? Check. Mosquito-borne? Check. Affected by animal movement, human activity, and environmental change? Check. Rift Valley Fever has all the markings of a classic TPWKY episode. This week, we’re doing a deep dive on this deadly virus, taking a One Health approach to explore the intricate relationships between animals, humans, and the environment to understand how this virus moves across the landscape. We trace the various paths this virus takes: through the organisms it infects, across the globe as it spreads, and over time as it appears to be evolving to be deadlier. Tune in to learn more about Rift Valley fever and what we might see with this pathogen in the years to come.
1 hour 15 mins
4 February Finished

Ep 163 Circadian Rhythm: Live from Perth, Australia
We are coming at you with our very first live episode from Perth, Australia! Here at the 2024 Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists Annual Scientific Conference and Exhibition, occupational hazards and exposures get top billing. And one of the most ubiquitous hazards, experienced by nearly every industry is fatigue, specifically fatigue caused by circadian rhythm disruption. In this very special episode, we explore how our circadian rhythms work and some of the consequences that can emerge when we work against those rhythms, whether that’s because we’re traveling across many time zones or switching to night shift work.
1 hour 12 mins
28 January Finished

Special Episode: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, Lee Mordechai & Diseased Cinema
Everyone’s got a favorite disease movie. What’s yours? Does it feature zombies like 28 Days Later (2002), or is it more grounded in reality, like Contagion (2011)? Does it end with a glimmer of hope or with a dose of despair? Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys? From the early days of disease movies like Panic in the Streets (1950) to more recent films like Little Joe (2019), these movies have provided endless entertainment, excitement, and opportunities to examine society itself.
46 mins
21 January Finished