The Infectious Science Podcast

Parasites & People

Send a textParasites spark equal parts fascination and fear—and they reveal how closely our health is tied to animals, food, water, and the places we live. We take you from the “heirlooms” we inherited from primate ancestors to the “souvenirs” picked up through agriculture and travel, then unpack what parasites actually do to the human body and why some symptoms are red flags while others are everyday noise. Along the way, we fact-check the social media wellness trend pushing “parasite cleanses,” and explain how self‑diagnosis and self-treatment often misses the mark.Grounded in One Health, we map the real exposure routes—undercooked meat, raw dairy products, and unclean water—and share a clinical vignette of a severe parasitic infection to separate rare but serious danger from common myths. Then we get practical: how proven antiparasitics work, what side effects to expect as parasites lose their grip, and why supportive care for anemia and nutrition matters just as much as killing the parasites. At the heart of the conversation is trust. People want agency and clear language; medicine offers evidence and accountability. We aim to bridge both—respecting traditional knowledge where it’s validated, challenging hype where it’s not, and highlighting the reliable guidance out there.If this conversation sparked your interest in parasites and health, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your feedback steers future topics—what should we fact-check next?Thanks for listening to the Infectious Science Podcast. Be sure to visit infectiousscience.org to join the conversation, access the show notes, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive our free materials. We hope you enjoyed this new episode of Infectious Science, and if you did, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic! Also, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or tell us which topics you want us to cover in future episodes. To get in touch, drop us a line in the comment section or send us a message on social media. Instagram @InfectscipodFacebook Infectious Science PodcastSee you next time for a new episode!

What Melting Permafrost Really Means For Human, Animal, and Planetary Health

Send a textIce doesn’t just melt; it remembers. As permafrost thaws, we unpack what really ‘wakes up’ in the soil—and what that means for human health, animals, crops, and culture. We bring a One Health lens to a noisy topic, cutting through “zombie virus” headlines to explain why most human viruses don’t survive freeze–thaw cycles, and how a 2016 Siberian outbreak became a case study in climate, ecology, and policy colliding.We explore the icy regions of the map—Russia, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Antarctica—then dive into the mechanics: frozen soils, ancient organic matter, and greenhouse gases are released when microbes “switch on.” You’ll hear how megaviruses that infect amoebae survived for tens of thousands of years, why smallpox on ice is noninfectious, and how plant pathogens threaten food systems as tourism and trade move microbes on boots and gear. We also explore prion durability, revived nematodes, and fungi’s overlooked role in carbon cycling that accelerates warming.Beyond the lab, we sit with the human story. Indigenous communities situated in permafrost regions face failing infrastructure, disrupted wildlife patterns, and cultural loss that statistics can’t capture. Add in geopolitics: like the Ukrainian war that has severed scientific data flows from vast Siberian regions, creating dangerous blind spots in permafrost surveillance. The takeaway isn’t panic—it’s preparation. Surveil, learn, support cross-border monitoring, and center cultural resilience alongside climate adaptation.Thanks for listening to the Infectious Science Podcast. Be sure to visit infectiousscience.org to join the conversation, access the show notes, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive our free materials. We hope you enjoyed this new episode of Infectious Science, and if you did, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic! Also, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or tell us which topics you want us to cover in future episodes. To get in touch, drop us a line in the comment section or send us a message on social media. Instagram @InfectscipodFacebook Infectious Science PodcastSee you next time for a new episode!

How Patients, Clinicians, and Communities Can Close the Healthcare Gap

Send a textThe average primary care visit lasts about 18 minutes. Complex symptoms, multiple conditions, and a maze of electronic forms don’t fit neatly into that window—and neither do the emotions that come with being sick. We sat down with advocates including a medical writer who was part of ACT UP, a sickle cell advocacy leader and a humanities scholar turned epidemiologist to unpack how patients, families, and clinicians can turn limited time into better outcomes with clearer language, smarter tools, and community trust.We dig into the numbers behind health literacy and why discharge summaries so often miss the mark, then translate that research into steps anyone can use: keep a simple medication list, coordinate records across specialists, and lean on reliable sources like local health departments and major nonprofits. Faith Adjei-Sarpong shares how sickle cell stigma—especially around pain and opioids—creates dangerous delays in care, and how sharing real stories online and off can shift bias. Drs. Heather Duncan and Patrick Murphy explain how plain-language micro-learning helps both sides of the exam room, and how medical writers can bridge patients and providers without diluting the science.We also surface the trust problem. The wellness industry wins attention with community and clear words, even when products are unregulated. So we talk about meeting people where trust already lives—barber shops, neighborhood centers—and why that approach worked from HIV activism to recent Mpox vaccination drives. Along the way, we address clinician burnout, the pressure of quotas, and the case for labor power in medicine to protect both providers and patients.If you care about health equity, patient rights, and practical advocacy, this conversation gives you a roadmap: listen first, use plain language, build locally, and measure success by human impact. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and tell us what you think!Fact-check note: The pharmaceutical industry is currently valued around $1 trillion, but it is expected to exceed $3 trillion after 2030.Thanks for listening to the Infectious Science Podcast. Be sure to visit infectiousscience.org to join the conversation, access the show notes, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive our free materials. We hope you enjoyed this new episode of Infectious Science, and if you did, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic! Also, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or tell us which topics you want us to cover in future episodes. To get in touch, drop us a line in the comment section or send us a message on social media. Instagram @InfectscipodFacebook Infectious Science PodcastSee you next time for a new episode!

How Generative AI Can Speed Research, Elevate Care, And Keep Humans At The Center

Send a textCurious how AI can make healthcare feel more human instead of less? We sit down with medical writer and AI adoption strategist Dr. Núria Negrão, who went from bench science to building practical ways for clinicians, researchers, and communicators to use generative tools without losing accuracy or empathy. From HIV educations roots to today’s most promising AI workflows, we trace what’s working now and where the next breakthroughs may land.We unpack the real bottlenecks: clinicians stuck typing and scientists drowning in papers. Dr. Negrão shows how ambient scribe tools can free clinicians up for face-to-face time with patients, while research copilots can scan literature, connect ideas, and surface the studies that matter. We talk medical education use cases—virtual patients for difficult conversations, culturally sensitive practice, and adaptive learning that meets people where they are. Along the way, we tackle the hard parts: AI hallucinations, bias reinforcement, privacy risks, and the myth that AI is either flawless or useless. The answer is supervision, sourcing, and clear guardrails.Regulation-by-principle anchors our approach: no emotion surveillance, no automated life-and-death allocation, strong data protections, and human override in care. Then we look at the upside for patients. Imagine leaving an appointment with a plain-language summary of what the doctor said, clear next steps, and links to trusted support groups—plus a secure assistant to answer follow-ups when anxiety spikes at midnight. That’s not replacing clinicians; that’s better navigation of the health system. If you want a grounded, hopeful take on AI in healthcare, science communication, and medical writing—one that boosts health literacy and speeds discovery—this conversation is for you.If this sparked ideas, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Tell us what you want to hear next so we can keep building tools and stories that serve real people.Thanks for listening to the Infectious Science Podcast. Be sure to visit infectiousscience.org to join the conversation, access the show notes, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive our free materials. We hope you enjoyed this new episode of Infectious Science, and if you did, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic! Also, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or tell us which topics you want us to cover in future episodes. To get in touch, drop us a line in the comment section or send us a message on social media. Instagram @InfectscipodFacebook Infectious Science PodcastSee you next time for a new episode!

Climate Change and the Rise and Spread of Pathogens

Send a textThe climate isn’t just warming—it’s reorganizing the rules of biology. We explore how rising temperatures, deforestation, wildfire smoke, and thawing permafrost are reshaping the risk landscape for malaria parasites, heat-trained fungi, spillover-prone viruses, and resilient bacteria. From Kenyan highlands that became friendlier to Anopheles mosquitoes, to urban heat islands that may condition fungi to tolerate our body temperature, to the sobering lesson of Siberia’s anthrax outbreak after unusual warmth, we connect data points to the lived reality of health systems on the front lines.We dive into malaria’s life cycle and why vector capacity accelerates in warmer, deforested microclimates. We examine fungal threats, including how wildfire smoke can disperse spores, and why limited antifungal options raise the stakes. On viruses, we unpack Ebola’s reservoir ecology, the role of habitat loss and food insecurity in human–animal interfaces, and how language and stigma can undermine outbreak response. Finally, we look at bacterial risks within permafrost feedback loops and across water and food systems, where floods, droughts, and soil microbiome shifts threaten safety and yields.Throughout, we keep solutions in focus: protecting forests and wetlands, cutting fossil fuels and air pollution, building climate-smart surveillance and diagnostics, and communicating with dignity so communities participate in prevention. Climate action is infection prevention—and it starts now. If this conversation sparked new questions or ideas, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What solutions can you enact in your life to face the rising threat?Thanks for listening to the Infectious Science Podcast. Be sure to visit infectiousscience.org to join the conversation, access the show notes, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive our free materials. We hope you enjoyed this new episode of Infectious Science, and if you did, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please share this episode with others who may be interested in this topic! Also, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or tell us which topics you want us to cover in future episodes. To get in touch, drop us a line in the comment section or send us a message on social media. Instagram @InfectscipodFacebook Infectious Science PodcastSee you next time for a new episode!