The Viral Universe Inside Us
The world is full of undiscovered viruses. They’re in the air we breathe, the ground we walk on, and they’re inside our bellies. For this last episode of the season,…
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
The Viral Universe Inside Us
The world is full of undiscovered viruses. They’re in the air we breathe, the ground we walk on, and they’re inside our bellies. For this last episode of the season,…
Measles: The Cancer Killer?
We thought we knew everything there was to know about measles. But in recent years, new research has revealed that the virus attacks the immune system and creates effects far…
Mosquitoes, Viruses and the History of the World
For thousands of years, humans have shaped mosquito evolution while mosquitoes have shaped human history. Today on the show, Noah Rose, an ecologist at UC San Diego, tells us how…
HIV: Racing to Identify a Killer
After four decades of dedicated research on HIV, scientists have made extraordinary progress in treating the disease. But we still don’t have a vaccine or a cure. On today’s show,…
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…
Phages: Bacteria’s Worst Nightmare
Can bacteriophages help us in the fight against antibiotic-resistant infections? Author Tom Ireland joins the show to discuss the fascinating world of bacteriophages, also known as phages – viruses that…
Herpes: Symptoms and Stigma
Why do we all know so little about the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), despite the fact that herpes infections are common and chronic? First, we get some Herpes 101 from…
HPV: Unpacking Papilloma
What can the mythical jackalope teach us about HPV? Author Michael Branch tells the story of how scientists first discovered horned rabbits, and how their findings paved the way for…
Influenza: In the Wild
What risk does H5N1 pose to humans? We hear from David Quammen, author of “Spillover,” about the vast and complicated interplay between influenza, the environment, animals, and humans. Then, molecular…
The Common Cold: A Viral Mystery
What do we know – and not know – about the suite of viral infections known as “the common cold”? We speak with curator Katie Dabin about the UK’s Common…
RSV: The Quest for a New Vaccine
What is ‘structure-based’ vaccine design? Before scientists used these techniques to design vaccines against Covid, they were testing them in the lab to combat RSV. Keren Landman joins the show…
Polio: The Last Mile
Why has polio been so challenging to eradicate? Karen Torghele tells the story of two polio vaccines and the two rival scientists who developed them: Albert Sabin and Jonas Salk.…
Smallpox: Gone but Not Forgotten
What can we learn from the centuries-long quest to eradicate smallpox, once the scourge of humanity? And how did it set the stage for all vaccines to come? First we…
The Host
Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein spent more than a decade as co-host of the Planet Money podcast. He's also the author of the book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, which the New…
