I will never have a boring moment while on a run, driving my car, or sitting at home ever again and here is why: I have finally found the perfect podcast. My friend recommended it to me at dinner last week (treat yourself, ladies!) and I have not stopped listening. The podcast is called “This Podcast Will Kill You” by Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke, and it is everything my hypochondriac, medical-drama-loving little heart has ever dreamed of.
In every microbe-musing episode, Erin and Erin take you on a journey through the history, pathology, and epidemiology of a disease. Perhaps the best part is that every episode includes a themed “Quarantini” drink recipe for you to drink along with the Erins or save in your personal archives.
So far, I have learned about the spread of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza, the widespread terror of dysentery, and am currently listening about the horrible, slow-growing leprosy (or Hansen’s Disease) bacteria that can be found in armadillos (featuring the Harmadillo quarantini!). Not only does this podcast explain the clinical presentations of these diseases, but it also gives an in-depth description of the microorganisms involved and a detailed story of the pathophysiology of the diseases, for the microbiology and physiology-loving listeners such as myself.
For any readers that love medical non-fiction like myself (see my previous article on this), my ladies who are avid podcast listeners, and those looking to try something new- THIS podcast is what you need in your life. It’s certainly been bringing me some joy- and some new cocktail recipes.