Distillations podcast
Health & Medicine
Bodies, minds, and the things that help and harm them
Interview with John C. Martin
The former CEO of Gilead Sciences tells us about remdesivir, an older drug showing promise in the fight against COVID-19.
Spit Spreads Death
Mütter Museum historical curator Jane E. Boyd discusses the parallels between the 1918–1919 flu pandemic and the coronavirus.
Roe v. Wade v. Rubella
The virus that made America talk about abortion.
The Alzheimer’s Copernicus Problem
Thirty years of research have failed to solve the Alzheimer’s riddle. Is the problem a blind embrace of scientific dogma?
Sex(ism), Drugs, and Migraines
We know migraines have afflicted people for at least three thousand years. Still, the condition continues to mystify us today.
Treating America’s Opioid Addiction
Part 3: Searching for Meaning in Kensington.
Treating America’s Opioid Addiction
Part 2: Synanon and the Tunnel Back to the Human Race.
Treating America’s Opioid Addiction
Part 1: The Narcotic Farm and the Promise of Salvation.
High-Tech and Amish
Using 21st-century medicine to maintain a 300-year-old way of life.
Fizzy Water
The unnatural history of a carbonated drink.
(Natural) Childbirth
Once upon a time all births were natural. A lot has happened since then.
Power in the Blood: When Religion and Medicine Meet in Your Veins
Blood is powerful, but it can also be dangerous.
Wonder Drugs
From antibiotics to chemotherapy, modern pharmaceuticals transformed the experience of illness in the 20th century.