This Podcast Will Kill You Podcast By Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts cover art

This Podcast Will Kill You

This Podcast Will Kill You

By: Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
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This podcast might not actually kill you, but Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke cover so many things that can. In each episode, they tackle a different topic, teaching listeners about the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery. They do the scientific research, so you don’t have to. Since 2017, Erin and Erin have explored chronic and infectious diseases, medications, poisons, viruses, bacteria and scientific discoveries. They’ve researched public health subjects including plague, Zika, COVID-19, lupus, asbestos, endometriosis and more. Each episode is accompanied by a creative quarantini cocktail recipe and a non-alcoholic placeborita. Erin Welsh, Ph.D. is a co-host of the This Podcast Will Kill You. She is a disease ecologist and epidemiologist and works full-time as a science communicator through her work on the podcast. Erin Allmann Updyke, MD, Ph.D. is a co-host of This Podcast Will Kill You. She’s an epidemiologist and disease ecologist currently in the final stretch of her family medicine residency program. This Podcast Will Kill You is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including science, true crime, comedic interviews, news, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, Buried Bones, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast and more.2025 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia Hygiene & Healthy Living Science
Episodes
  • Ep 182 SSRIs Part 1: Origin
    Jul 22 2025

    Since first hitting the shelves nearly 40 years ago, SSRIs have become one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antidepressants around the world, as well as one of the most discussed and misunderstood. This and next week, we tell the story of SSRIs in two parts. In Part 1, we explore the origins of these medications and their predecessors, a surprising journey that takes us back millions of years and across the animal kingdom, and one that proves that John Green was right - everything truly is tuberculosis. How did we get from tuberculosis to Prozac? Tune in to find out.

    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Special Episode: Wendy Chin-Tanner & King of the Armadillos
    Jul 15 2025

    We’ve got a very special episode of the TPWKY book club this week! We’re featuring our very first fiction book: King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner. This novel tells the story of a young man named Victor, who is sent from his home in New York City to a federal treatment facility in Carville, Louisiana after a diagnosis of Hansen’s disease (then known as leprosy). After being ripped away from his family and the life he knew, Victor struggles to navigate his new situation, facing racism, stigma, and loneliness. Ultimately, he finds support in the lively community of Carville. Wendy joins us to discuss her creative process for this beautifully-written book, and how her father’s life provided the basis for Victor’s story. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation about a long-forgotten piece of public health history and the powerful meaning that diseases can hold.

    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    56 mins
  • Ep 181 PCOS: Beyond the cysts
    Jul 8 2025

    What’s in a name? What can you really tell from a label like “polycystic ovarian syndrome”? And how much of that is more misconception than truth? The answer, as it turns out, is the former. In this episode, we delve into the world of PCOS, a world that shows us how preconceived notions of health and disease, gender and sexuality can do far more harm than good. For many people with PCOS, this condition violates society’s expectations of how you should look, act, or feel. And the resulting stigma and shame deepens the silence that often surrounds PCOS and leads to inadequate treatment and medical gaslighting. But thanks to the work of some incredible advocates, that silence is slowly fading. Tune in to discover the many lessons that PCOS can teach us, if only we are willing to learn.

    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    1 hr and 27 mins

Featured Article: Go Beyond the Lab with the Best Science Podcasts for Curious Listeners


Our picks for the best science podcasts run the gamut from general scientific trivia to earth science, outer space, food, plants, the human body, and much more. They're all accessible—any listener can learn about scientific history, breaking science news, and visions for the future from these shows, which often feature interviews with a variety of interesting experts who provide valuable insight, perspective, context, and clarity.

All stars
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This podcast is so entertaining and informative! I’m learning and laughing so much every time I listen.

Love it!

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Super interesting topics. love the format. I am learning so much and I am not even trying.

learning without working

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There’s nothing quite like getting to deep dive into all these infectious diseases without having to do any of the challenging research. Thanks for sharing your hard work, Erin and Erin!

Infectious podcast!

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So far I am a fan of the Erin and Erin. It’s fun to listen to the banter and wealth of information. They both sound like empathetic and wonderfully intelligent women. I have started from the first episode and am working my way up. Thank you for the entertaining education.

Well Rounded Excellence

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(long time listener on a different platform)
This podcast might just be my #1 favorite! Very well researched, with detailed explanations of biological mechanisms and processes as well as great storytelling when it comes to the historical side of things. I love the genuine enthusiasm with which the Erins talk about all these horrible pathogens (because yes, they ARE FASCINATING) and the occasional anger about the mistreatment of people in the name of medicine over the course of its history.

Fascinating and Funny

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I love this fun and informative pod! I always learn a lot about biology and history. The narrators ("the Erin's," since they're both named Erin) are funny and thoughtful.

My favorite podcast

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These two women are smart, funny and I've learned so much about topics I'm not sure I wanted to know.. with their fascinating focus on Poop, Diseases, Poison, and basically everything under the sun, clearly these two are scientists and their repartee is hilarious. I'm going to be binging all 150 episodes now!

This is a great podcast! Educational and Sassy

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I've loved every episode, even if I rarely listen through the audible app. Master storytelling and interesting topics.

Favorite

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I thoroughly enjoy the topics and book talks in this podcast series. I’m so happy it is weekly again!!

My weekly go-to podcast!

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i love these 2 knuckleheads. so smart so organized. open to correction. witty and delighfully "cool"! gross, empathic, great describes of details when needed and enough reviewing i don't get lost in all the great info. and they love this material and now i do too! you go girls!!

i'm infected!!

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