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

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', 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. Generally, Welsh tells the history of the disease and Updyke explains the biology epidemiology. 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

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. 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. "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. They wanted to make medical knowledge more accessible and easier to understand to the general public, without diluting it. Their first episode aired on October 31, 2017. In 2018, prior to launching Season 2, "This Podcast Will Kill You" joined The Exactly Right Network. In doing so, their downloads rose four times. The show was nominated for a 2019 Webby Award in the Science and Education Podcasts category. In 2020, they started a special series of episodes focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Season 6 featured a miniseries of bonus episodes focussing on popular science books, "TPWKY book club".

List of Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

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.
DateEpisodeTitle
December 14, 202186Typhus: Another lousy episode
December 28, 202187C. diff: Fighting poop with poop
January 11, 202288Endometriosis: menstrual backwash
January 25, 202289Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2
February 1, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Hep B stigma & discrimination
February 8, 202290Human African Trypanosomiasis: A lot to unpack
February 15, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Human African Trypanosomiasis & drug development
February 22, 202291Myxomatosis: Down the rabbit hole
March 1, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
March 8, 202292Multiple Sclerosis: Scarred nerves & skating saints
March 15, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Epstein-Barr virus
March 22, 202293Lightning & Other Stories: Power Hour
March 29, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Electricity
April 19, 202294Chlamydia: Double Trouble
April 26, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Chlamydia, Koalas and More!
May 3, 202295Tetanus: An inhuman calamity!
May 10, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: On the Origin of Epidemiology
May 17, 202296Tapeworm: We encyst you listen
May 24, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Coprolites!
May 31, 202297Snake Venoms: Collateral Damage
June 7, 2022SpecialSpecial Episode: Snake Venom Evolution
June 14, 202298Folate: Marmite, anyone?
June 28, 202299Salmonella: A hard egg to crack
July 12, 2022100Monkeypox: Here we go again?
July 26, 2022101Immortality; This Podcast Won't Kill You
August 9, 2022102Arsenic: Paris Green with Envy
August 31, 2022103Leptospirosis: Don't blame the rats
September 6, 2022104The Bends: Industrial Revolution, Baby
September 20, 2022105Down in the Mumps
October 7, 2022106Turner Syndrome: Let's talk about X
November 4, 2022107Sepsis: It's a mess
November 4, 2022108Gout: Toetally fascinating
November 15, 2022109Chikungunya: Not dengue
November 29, 2022110Influenza, Take 2: Fowl Play

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

COVID-19 Series

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. The series reached its tentative end with Chapter 19.
SeasonDateEpisodeTitle
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 1COVID-19: Virology
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 2COVID-19: Disease
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 3COVID-19: Control
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 4COVID-19: Epidemiology
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 5COVID-19: Vaccines
SpecialMarch 23, 2020Chapter 6COVID-19: Mental Health
SpecialApril 6, 2020Chapter 7COVID-19: Spillover
SpecialApril 9, 2020Chapter 8COVID-19: Disparities
SpecialApril 20, 2020Chapter 9COVID-19: Economics
SpecialApril 23, 2020Chapter 10COVID-19: Schools
SpecialMay 4, 2020Chapter 11COVID-19: Modeling
SpecialDecember 10, 2020Chapter 12Control, Take 2
SpecialDecember 22, 2020Chapter 13Vaccines, Take 2
SpecialJanuary 5, 2021Chapter 14Virology, Take 2
SpecialMarch 30, 2021Chapter 15Disease, Take 2
SpecialApril 13, 2021Chapter 16Disparities, Take 2
SpecialApril 27, 2021Chapter 17Frontline Mental Health
SpecialMay 11, 2021Chapter 18Conservation & Pandemics
SpecialMay 25, 2021Chapter 18Your Stories
SpecialJune 8, 2021Chapter 19Looking forward by looking back

TPWKY Book club series

From Season 6 onwards, in between the regular episodes, several bonus episodes were released within a miniseries called the TPWKY Book club. These episodes feature 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.
SeasonDateTitle
6February 21, 2023Special Episode: David Quammen & Breathless
6March 7, 2023Special Episode: Sarah Everts & The Joy of Sweat
6March 21, 2023Special Episode: Angela Saini & Superior
6April 25, 2023Special Episode: Dr. Kate Clancy & Period
6May 26, 2023Special Episode: Mary Roach & Fuzz
6June 20, 2023Special Episode: Dr. Steven Thrasher & The Viral Underclass
6July 11, 2023Special Episode: Dr. Andrew Wehrmann & The Contagion of Liberty
6July 26, 2023Special Episode: Deborah Blum & The Poison Squad
6August 8, 2023Special Episode: Ed Yong & An Immense World
7April 23, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens & Medical Bondage
7May 14, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Sara Manning Peskin & A Molecule Away from Madness
7June 4, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Paul Offit & Tell Me When It's Over
7June 24, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Noah Whiteman & Most Delicious Poison
7July 16, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Rageshri Dhairyawan & Unheard
7August 6, 2024Special Episode: Ben Goldfarb & Crossings
7August 27, 2024Special Episode: Maria Smilios & The Black Angels
7September 17, 2024Special Episode: Dan Egan & The Devil's Element
7October 8, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Charan Ranganath & Why We Remember
7October 29, 2024Special Episode: Kate Zernike & The Exceptions
7November 19, 2024Special Episode: Dr. Emily Monosson & Blight
7December 17, 2024Special Episode: Philip Eil & Prescription for Pain
7January 21, 2025Special Episode: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, Lee Mordechai & Diseased Cinema
7March 4, 2025Special Episode: Rachel Gross & Vagina Obscura
8April 22, 2025Special Episode: John Green & Everything Is Tuberculosis
8May 13, 2025Special Episode: Dr. Adam Ratner & Booster Shots
8June 3, 2025Special Episode: Dr. Wendy Kline & Exposed
8June 24, 2025Special Episode: Professor Steven Mithen & The Language Puzzle
8July 15, 2025Special Episode: Wendy Chin-Tanner & King of the Armadillos
8August 5, 2025Special Episode: Carl Zimmer & Airborne
8August 26, 2025Special Episode: Lina Zeldovich & The Living Medicine
8September 16, 2025Special Episode: Mary Roach & Replaceable You
8October 7, 2025Special Episode: Antonia Hylton & Madness
8October 28, 2025Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends!
8November 18, 2025Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive
8December 9, 2025Special Episode: Dr. Homer Venters & Outbreak Behind Bars