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Incubation is a podcast that traces the history of humanity through viruses. We’ve all seen how the SARS CoV2 pandemic changed just about everything — from family life to work to politics –– but that’s just the latest installment in a long line of virus shake-ups. Other viruses –– influenza, HPV, smallpox, RSV –– have dramatically changed or endangered life as we know it. In many cases, scientists have been able to change the odds in favor of humanity. But deadly viruses persist — and containing them remains a scientific and technological challenge that each successive generation must take on.

Author and What’s Your Problem host Jacob Goldstein takes us on a journey with leading medical researchers, doctors and historians to trace key moments in our battles with viruses, breakthroughs in vaccine research, and the impact of vaccination campaigns.  These stories will help us better understand the evolutionary contest between humans and viruses, and how vaccines and new technologies are changing the score.

Most Recent Episode

Shingles: The Mystery of Pain

For a long time, people could tell that there was some connection between chickenpox and shingles. But exactly how they were related was a mystery. Then, in the 1950s, a…

Epstein-Barr Virus: The Fog of Discovery

Almost everyone on earth has Epstein-Barr virus. Usually it's pretty mild - you get sick, you get better. But the virus lives on in your body forever. Today, we talk…

Ebola: Preventing the Next Pandemic

What did the 2014 Ebola outbreak teach us about preventing future pandemics? Our guests this week, Christian Happi and Pardis Sabeti, are world experts on disease surveillance, and have worked…

Rabies: When Monsters are Real

Why has rabies invaded our nightmares for centuries? Author and veterinarian Monica Murphy tells us about the cultural history of rabies (which involves vampires and werewolves!) and how our long…

Introducing Incubation Season 2

Incubation Season 2 begins October 17th.

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