This Podcast Will Kill You

This Podcast Will Kill You is an American podcast hosted by disease ecologists and epidemiologists Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke.[1] Its first full-length episode was released on October 31, 2017. New episodes were released weekly until the second season, when they were released every two weeks. Each week a different disease is covered, the majority of which are infectious diseases with some exceptions, such as scurvy in episode 19.[2]

This Podcast Will Kill You
Presentation
Hosted by
  • Erin Allmann Updyke
  • Erin Welsh
GenreMedical
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesBi-weekly on Tuesdays
Publication
Original releaseOctober 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
ProviderExactly Right
Related
Websitehttps://thispodcastwillkillyou.com

"This Podcast Will Kill You" is part of the Exactly Right Podcast Network, created by the hosts of "My Favorite Murder."[3]

Structure of Episodes

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Each episode is about an hour in duration and generally starts with a firsthand account of someone affected by the disease. After that, the hosts create a mixed drink that is connected to the disease, called a 'Quarantini',[4] in a segment known as 'Quarantini time'. After this introduction, the biology of the disease is explained, then history, epidemiology, and finally, the disease's effect on the modern world.[2] Generally, Welsh tells the history of the disease and Updyke explains the biology epidemiology.[5] Finally, the hosts cite the sources used to present the information, and supply a link to their website where the sources can be found.

History

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Erin Allmann Updyke, co-host, has an M.S. in epidemiology from the University of Hawaii and a Ph.D. in entomology and an M.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[5] Erin Welsh, co-host, has an M.S. in epidemiology from the University of Louisville and a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[5] "The Erins," as they've coined themselves, started "This Podcast Will Kill You" because they felt that the medical knowledge that they have gained from their education rarely transfers out of the academia world.[6] They wanted to make medical knowledge more accessible and easier to understand to the general public, without diluting it.[6] Their first episode aired on October 31, 2017.[7] In 2018, prior to launching Season 2, "This Podcast Will Kill You" joined The Exactly Right Network.[3] In doing so, their downloads rose four times.[8] The show was nominated for a 2019 Webby Award in the Science and Education Podcasts category.[9] In 2020, they started a special series of episodes focusing on the COVID-19 Pandemic.[10] In 2023, Season 6 featured a miniseries of bonus episodes focussing on popular science books, "TPWKY book club".[11]

List of Episodes

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Season 1[7]

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Date Episode Title
October 23, 2017 0 Trailer
October 31, 2017 1 Influenza Will Kill You
November 7, 2017 2 [Leprosy:] Skin in the Game, Horse in the Race
November 14, 2017 3 [Smallpox:] Gnarlypox
November 21, 2017 4 [Cholera:] The Poop Show
November 28, 2017 5 Plague Part I: The GMOAT
December 5, 2017 6 Plague Part II: TGFA
December 12, 2017 7 Hit Me With Your Best (Polio) Shot
December 19, 20117 8 ABRACADABRA - Go Away Malaria!
January 2, 2018 9 Tuberculosis: A Slow Burn
January 9, 2018 10 Yellow Fever: Is there a Hamilton song about this?
January 16, 2018 11 Ebola: The New Kid on the Block
January 23, 2018 12 HIV/AIDS: Apathy Will Kill You
January 30, 2018 13 Bonus Episode: HIV/AIDS
February 27, 2018 - Don't Tread on my Monkshood: Crossover with IDOP

Season 2[12]

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Date Episode Title
November 27, 2018 14 Rabies, Don't dilute me, bro
December 11, 2018 15 MRSA: Make resistance Susceptible Again
December 24, 2018 16 Scratch and Sniff Diphtheria Membrane
January 8, 2019 17 Oh No Tetrodo: Crossover with TBOSP
January 22, 2019 18 Hantavirus: The Real Rat Race
February 5, 2019 19 Scurvy: Thanks a lot, evolution
February 20, 2019 20 Prions: Apocalypse Cow
March 5, 2019 21 Measles: The Worst Souvenir
March 19, 2019 22 Belladonna will dilate your mind: Crossover with IDOP
April 2, 2019 23 Opening a can of Hookworms
April 16, 2019 24 Zika: Rumors and Rumours
April 30, 2019 25 Put your hands together for: Gonorrhea!
May 16, 2019 26 Vaccines Part I: Let's hear it for Maurice
May 21, 2019 27 Vaccines Part II: Have you thanks your immune system lately?
May 28, 2019 28 H.pylori: Don't try this at home
June 11, 2019 29 Aspirin the Wonder Drug: Crossover w/ IDOP
June 25, 2019 30 Encephalitis Lethargica: Sleep Perchance to Dream (& Dream & Dream)
July 9, 2019 31 Giardia: Gerardia
July 23, 2019 32 Ask the Erins
August 6, 2019 33 Chytrid: The Silent Forest
August 20, 2019 34 Cystic Fibrosis: Complete Somatic Rebellion
September 3, 2019 35 Lyme Disease: I'd like to check you for ticks

Season 3[13]

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Date Episode Title
October 29, 2019 36 Shades of Syphilis
November 12, 2019 37 E. coli (unless it's beets)
November 26, 2019 38 Lead Poisoning: Heavy Metal Episode
December 10, 2019 39 Toxoplasmosis: Calling All Cats
December 24, 2019 40 Dancing Plague: Worst Dance Party Ever
January 7, 2020 41 Ricin: A Bad Seed (crossover with IDOP)
January 21, 2020 42 Dandy Dengue Fever
February 4, 2020 43 M-m-m-my Coronaviruses
February 18, 2020 44 Pertussis: Whoop Here It Is
March 3, 2020 45 Hepatitis C: Hepatiti?
March 17, 2020 46 Lactose Intolerance: Never trust a fart
March 31, 2020 47 Schistosomiasis: A Snail's Pace
April 14, 2020 48 Botulism: Why are you the way you are?
April 28, 2020 49 Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Triple EEEk!
May 12, 2020 50 Antibiotics: We owe it all to chemistry!
May 26, 2020 51 The Path of Most (Antibiotic) Resistance
June 23, 2020 52 Rinderpest: Moo Cows, Moo Problems
July 7, 2020 53 Radiation: X-Ray Marks the Spot
July 21, 2020 54 Wake up and Smell the Caffeine
August 4, 2020 55 Rocky Mountain spotted fever: the Tick must be destroyed!
August 18, 2020 56 Sickle Cell Disease: Invisible Illness, Enduring Strength
September 1, 2020 57 Herpes: Stop the STIgma
September 15, 2020 58 Guinea worm: (Almost) Ancient History
September 29, 2020 59 Thalidomide: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied
October 13, 2020 60 Giving birth to "the pill"

Season 4[14]

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Date Episode Title
December 1, 2020 61 Typhoid: There's Something About Mary
December 15, 2020 62 Leishmaniasis, Relationship Status: It's Complicated
December 29, 2020 63 Poison Ivy: It's Just Us
January 12, 2021 64 Rubella: Timing is Everything
January 26, 2021 65 Sweating Sickness: Ready, Sweat, Go!
February 9, 2021 66 The Outs and Ins of Organ Transplantation
February 23, 2021 67 HPV: My wart be with you
March 9, 2021 68 Coccidioidomycosis: It's never a spider bite
March 23, 2021 69 Huntington's disease: Let's talk frankly
April 6, 2021 70 Henrietta Lacks: HeLa There, & Everywhere
April 20, 2021 71 Onchocerciasis/River Blindness: So many mysteries
May 4, 2021 72 White-Nose Syndrome: How deep is your torpor?
May 18, 2021 73 Puerperal Fever: Seriously, wash your hands
June 1, 2021 74 Naegleria fowleri: The "brain eating amoeba"
June 15, 2021 75 Mercury: The cost of progress
June 29, 2021 76 Chickenpox: There's always a ‘but’
July 13, 2021 77 Legionnaires’ Disease: A Killer Mist
July 27, 2021 78 Bartonella: Keep Calm and Carrión
August 10, 2021 79 Hemophilia: A Hemorrhagic Disposition
August 24, 2021 80 Dysentery loves a disaster
September 7, 2021 81 Chagas disease: The Reverse Triple Discovery
September 21, 2021 82 Anthrax: The Hardcore Spore
October 5, 2021 83 Diabetes: Short & Sweet
October 19, 2021 84 West Nile virus: The Crow in the Coal Mine
November 2, 2021 85 Alcohol: Beer for Thought

Season 5[15]

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In Season 5, a few of the regular podcast episodes were followed by a special episode often going deeper into detail on what was covered in the previous episode.

Date Episode Title
December 14, 2021 86 Typhus: Another lousy episode
December 28, 2021 87 C. diff: Fighting poop with poop
January 11, 2022 88 Endometriosis: menstrual backwash
January 25, 2022 89 Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2
February 1, 2022 Special Special Episode: Hep B stigma & discrimination
February 8, 2022 90 Human African Trypanosomiasis: A lot to unpack
February 15, 2022 Special Special Episode: Human African Trypanosomiasis & drug development
February 22, 2022 91 Myxomatosis: Down the rabbit hole
March 1, 2022 Special Special Episode: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
March 8, 2022 92 Multiple Sclerosis: Scarred nerves & skating saints
March 15, 2022 Special Special Episode: Epstein-Barr virus
March 22, 2022 93 Lightning & Other Stories: Power Hour (and a Half)
March 29, 2022 Special Special Episode: Electricity
April 19, 2022 94 Chlamydia: Double Trouble
April 26, 2022 Special Special Episode: Chlamydia, Koalas and More!
May 3, 2022 95 Tetanus: An inhuman calamity!
May 10, 2022 Special Special Episode: On the Origin of Epidemiology
May 17, 2022 96 Tapeworm: We encyst you listen
May 24, 2022 Special Special Episode: Coprolites!
May 31, 2022 97 Snake Venoms: Collateral Damage
June 7, 2022 Special Special Episode: Snake Venom Evolution
June 14, 2022 98 Folate: Marmite, anyone?
June 28, 2022 99 Salmonella: A hard egg to crack
July 12, 2022 100 Monkeypox: Here we go again?
July 26, 2022 101 Immortality; This Podcast Won't Kill You
August 9, 2022 102 Arsenic: Paris Green with Envy
August 31, 2022 103 Leptospirosis: Don't blame the rats
September 6, 2022 104 The Bends: Industrial Revolution, Baby
September 20, 2022 105 Down in the Mumps
October 7, 2022 106 Turner Syndrome: Let's talk about X
November 4, 2022 107 Sepsis: It's a mess
November 4, 2022 108 Gout: Toetally fascinating
November 15, 2022 109 Chikungunya: Not dengue (or is it?)
November 29, 2022 110 Influenza, Take 2: Fowl Play

Season 6[16]

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Date Episode Title
January 31, 2023 111 RSV: What's syncytial anyway
February 14, 2023 112 Epilepsy: It's always the phlegm
February 28, 2023 113 Vitamin D: The D stands for drama
March 14, 2023 114 Listeria: It put Dairy on the map
March 28, 2023 115 Altitude Sickness: Balloons though?
April 11, 2023 116 It's never lupus (except this time)
May 15, 2023 117 Bedbugs: Bug-bitten and bedeviled
June 6, 2023 118 Asbestos: Corruption and cancer and corporate greed, oh my!
July 4, 2023 119 Marburg virus: Too fast, too furious
July 18, 2023 120 Acetaminophen/Paracetamol: Pain. Killer
August 1, 2023 121 Tularemia: Hare today, gone tomorrow
August 15, 2023 122 Asthma: A phlegmy episode
August 29, 2023 123 Hand, Foot, and Mouth (and Butt?) Disease
September 12, 2023 124 The full spectrum of color vision deficiency
September 26, 2023 125 Blastomycosis: How fungus became amongus
October 10, 2023 126 Migraine: A Cacophany in Four Movements
October 24, 2023 127 Bhopal: The 1984 Union Carbide Disaster
November 7, 2023 128 Skin Cancer: We love and fear the sun
November 21, 2023 129 Lymphatic Filariasis: Hiding in plain sight
December 5, 2023 130 Cocoliztli: We do love a salty dish
December 19, 2023 131 Parkinson's Disease: Dopamine & discoveries

COVID-19 Series[17]

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To discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the podcast introduced "The Anatomy of a Pandemic" series in which each episode tackles a particular aspect of COVID-19. This mini-series not only addresses the virus itself, but also addresses how it can impact mental health and cause societal disarray.[18] The series reached its tentative end with Chapter 19.

Season Date Episode Title
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 1 COVID-19: Virology
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 2 COVID-19: Disease
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 3 COVID-19: Control
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 4 COVID-19: Epidemiology
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 5 COVID-19: Vaccines
Special March 23, 2020 Chapter 6 COVID-19: Mental Health
Special April 6, 2020 Chapter 7 COVID-19: Spillover
Special April 9, 2020 Chapter 8 COVID-19: Disparities
Special April 20, 2020 Chapter 9 COVID-19: Economics
Special April 23, 2020 Chapter 10 COVID-19: Schools
Special May 4, 2020 Chapter 11 COVID-19: Modeling (Institute for Disease Modeling interview)
Special December 10, 2020 Chapter 12 Control, Take 2
Special December 22, 2020 Chapter 13 Vaccines, Take 2
Special January 5, 2021 Chapter 14 Virology, Take 2
Special March 30, 2021 Chapter 15 Disease, Take 2
Special April 13, 2021 Chapter 16 Disparities, Take 2
Special April 27, 2021 Chapter 17 Frontline Mental Health
Special May 11, 2021 Chapter 18 Conservation & Pandemics
Special May 25, 2021 Chapter 18 Your Stories
Special June 8, 2021 Chapter 19 Looking forward by looking back

TPWKY Book club series[16]

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Season 6 contains a miniseries of bonus episodes which features interviews with authors of popular science books, covering topics ranging from why sweat matters to the history of food safety, from the menstrual cycle to the persistence of race science.[19]

Season Date Title
6 February 21, 2023 Special Episode: David Quammen & Breathless
6 March 7, 2023 Special Episode: Sarah Everts & The Joy of Sweat
6 March 21, 2023 Special Episode: Angela Saini & Superior
6 April 25, 2023 Special Episode: Dr. Kate Clancy & Period
6 May 26, 2023 Special Episode: Mary Roach & Fuzz
6 June 20, 2023 Special Episode: Dr. Steven Thrasher & The Viral Underclass
6 July 11, 2023 Special Episode: Dr. Andrew Wehrmann & The Contagion of Liberty
6 July 26, 2023 Special Episode: Deborah Blum & The Poison Squad
6 August 8, 2023 Special Episode: Ed Yong & An Immense World

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Erins". This Podcast Will Kill You. 2018-02-07. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  2. ^ a b "This Podcast Will Kill You". Exactly Right Podcast Network. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  3. ^ a b McDonell-Parry, Amelia (2018-11-28). "'My Favorite Murder' Hosts Launch Podcast Network". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  4. ^ Dibdin, Emma (2019-07-18). "8 Podcasts for the Tech Curious". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  5. ^ a b c "This Podcast Will Kill You: Science communication through conversation". Life Sciences Institute. 2019-10-31. Archived from the original on 2020-07-04. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  6. ^ a b Syrek, Ryan (16 July 2019). "This Interview Will Kill You". Medscape. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  7. ^ a b "Season 1 – This Podcast Will Kill You". 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  8. ^ "'This Podcast Will Kill You' Shows 4x Growth with Exactly Right". Midroll. 2019-03-13. Archived from the original on 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  9. ^ "Nominee - This Podcast Will Kill You". The Webby Awards. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  10. ^ Cummings, Sinead (26 March 2020). "'This Podcast Will Kill You' has a new series on COVID-19". PhillyVoice. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. ^ "TPWKY Book Club – This Podcast Will Kill You". 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  12. ^ "Season 2 – This Podcast Will Kill You". 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  13. ^ "Season 3 – This Podcast Will Kill You". 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  14. ^ "Season 4 – This Podcast Will Kill You". Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  15. ^ "Season 5 – This Podcast Will Kill You". 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  16. ^ a b "Season 6 – This Podcast Will Kill You". 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  17. ^ "COVID-19 – This Podcast Will Kill You". Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  18. ^ "This Podcast Will Kill You and The C-Word - The TLS". TLS. Archived from the original on 2020-07-04. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  19. ^ "Special Episode: David Quammen & Breathless – This Podcast Will Kill You". 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-09-26.