Explore the history of antibiotics with 'This Podcast Will Kill You'

Learn the history and science of influenza in 'This Podcast Will Kill You'

In their flu episode, cohosts Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke unpack influenza’s biology, history, and impact—explaining everything from past pandemics to modern vaccines, all with their trademark mix of science and storytelling.

Scientists from the frontline discuss the future of antibiotics and superbugs

Superbugs are a very real problem, but researchers around the world are working to advance our understanding of these pathogens and develop new medicines. This podcast talks with several scientists on the frontier of superbug research, offering insight into what we know—and what the future of medicine may look like.

Oxford scientists turned Fleming’s mold discovery into medicine

In 1939, a team at Oxford—including Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and Norman Heatley—revived Fleming’s forgotten discovery. Using makeshift equipment like bedpans and milk churns, they purified enough penicillin to prove it could treat deadly infections.

True crime, explained

Tales exploring some of the most grisly and unthinkable crimes have satisfied the public's morbid curiosity for more than a century, and modern podcasting has shot the genre to new heights. Want to learn more about the history of true crime? 1440 has the breakdown here.

Two-thirds of antibiotic classes were made between the 1940s and 1960s

The vast majority of bacterial treatments were developed during the "Golden Age of Antibiotics," an era of rapid innovation and drug discovery that led to the reduction of millions of deaths worldwide. Since 1970, only eight new antibiotic classes have been discovered.

How a deadly antarctic expedition turned poisonous

A deadly 1912 scientific expedition to the Antarctic took a turn for the worse when the expedition team's leader turned to man's best friend to fuel their journey. This 21-minute podcast episode provides a glimpse into the real-life dangers of...

A four-part podcast traces how the Manhattan Project reshaped the world

This podcast series explores the origins of the Manhattan Project, its secret cities, and the scientists behind it—showing how the effort contributed to the end of World War II, launched the Atomic Age, and later led Oppenheimer to become a critic of nuclear weapons.

Hear the untold colonial backstories of the British Museum’s most famous artifacts

This podcast from VICE’s Unfiltered History Tour visits the British Museum’s prized objects through accounts from experts and communities from which they were taken.

The lack of diversity in clinical trials is undermining the future of precision medicine

Medicine works better when the treatments are tailored to fit each individual person’s biology and history. Homogeneous patient selection in clinical trials means treatments and care are being refined based on only a small range of variables, some of which may not apply to you. This 40-minute podcast episode discusses the historical and current reasons for the lack of clinical trial diversity and what this means for the future of personalized medicine.

A World War I discovery about blocking ethylene, a plant hormone, now helps preserve our fruits

Listen to this in-depth podcast episode about discoveries that enabled fruits and vegetables to be preserved and appear fresh for months or longer and other scientific insights, including why iceberg lettuce was the salad staple people ate for most of the 20th century.

A professor explains how podcasts built on radio's strengths

When podcasts were first produced in the early 2000s, they were often recordings of radio shows aimed at listeners who wanted to listen outside of the broadcast windows. Siobhan McHugh, an associate professor of journalism at Australia's University of Wollongong, argues that the form is built on radio's intimacy, amplifying the connection listeners feel with their favorite hosts.

The science of dogs, from wolf origins to color-blindness

This under 10-minute podcast episode dives into the rich, fascinating science behind dogs: From their world-class sense of smell to their domestication from wolves.

A podcast uncovering drug killings in the Philippines

This podcast investigates how many people have been killed in the Philippines since its War on Drugs began. In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte became the President of the Philippines, framing drugs as an existential threat and the root of all crime, saying...

Atlantis and the apocalypse: the world of fringe archaeology

A Netflix series called "Ancient Apocalypse" claims that a thriving civilization was wiped out during the ice age by comets and floods, but left humanity with science and technology. Experts call this “pseudo-archaeology.” This hour-long podcast...

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

With no textbooks or antibiotics, this WWI surgeon pioneered facial reconstruction

New Zealand surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies made extraordinary advances in the field of reconstructive surgery during World War I and after. This 36-minute NPR podcast interviews historian Lindsey Fitzharris, author of Gillie's biography, The Facemaker, charting how the good doctor reconstructed the faces of numerous soldiers in an age before antibiotics and plastic surgery as we know it today.

How a government chemist founded the FDA—by poisoning people

The Poison Squad tells the story of government chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley who, determined to banish these dangerous substances from dinner tables, took on the powerful food manufacturers and their allies.

'1440 Explores,' Episode 2: Why We Drink and What It Does to US

Alcohol is the world's most popular drug—a molecule that can calm or excite and bond communities or tear them apart. We trace alcohol's journey from ancient rituals to modern hangovers, uncover how it shaped civilizations, and dive into the neuroscience of how it affects your brain and body. With insights from leading experts, we ask: Given all that we know, why do humans continue to drink?

An overview on germ theory, the crucial framework developed by Louis Pasteur

Germ theory of disease is based on the concept that many diseases are caused by infections with microorganisms, typically only visualized under high magnification. Read this general overview to understand the basic framework which allowed for development of vaccines.

Most penicillin allergy diagnoses are wrong

A Freakonomics Radio episode investigates why so many people mistakenly believe they’re allergic to penicillin. This widespread misdiagnosis leads to costlier, less effective treatments and contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Doctors ignored women's pain as a nurse replaced their fentanyl with saline

This five-part podcast series, produced by Serial Productions, focuses on the experiences of women undergoing fertility treatments at a Yale clinic where a nurse secretly replaced pain medication with saline solution. This led to women experiencing excruciating pain during procedures, but the clinic downplayed or ignored their complaints.

Six of history's most unethical human experiments, from deliberate flu exposure to withholding syphilis treatment

Some of the progress made in mental health treatment, vaccines, blood transfusions, and more came about before the advent of consent and ethics committees, resulting in serious physical and psychological harm that participants in studies were not even anticipating.

Assessing the effectiveness of peacekeeping forces

This podcast episode of Diplomatic Immunity from Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy explores the evolution of UN peacekeeping over its 70-year history. The podcast is joined by Dr. Lise Howard to examine the origins, challenges, and shifting role of peacekeepers—those “blue helmets” deployed where few others will go—in a broader conversation about multilateralism and global conflict response.

Using psychedelics to manage a cancer diagnosis

Dr. Roland Griffiths helped lead the revival of psychedelic research, often prescribing the use of psilocybin to address severe depression or anxiety in patients. This podcast explores how Griffiths leaned on his own career after being diagnosed with cancer and facing the prospect of death.

Exploring the link between history, art, and anatomy

Throughout centuries, art has played a vital role in sharing—and furthering—scientific understanding. This largely began in 1543 when physician Andreas Vesalius worked with an artist and engraver to transform learnings from his dissections into...

‘Tulip mania’ may have been the first financial bubble. It still shapes markets today

This podcast revisits tulip mania, the 1630s Dutch craze where rare bulbs were briefly traded like luxury assets. It unpacks the myths surrounding the event and shows how its legend continues to shape modern perceptions of financial bubbles.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.