How the threat of disease has shaped human be...

More than half of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involve stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine. There are no medications to treat stimulant addiction, but there is a behavioral treatment that works: contingency management, which involves offering tangible, immediate rewar ...  Show more

Why do some ideas, products, news stories and trends spread like wildfire, while others disappear? Jonah Berger, PhD, discusses the science of what catches on; the psychological forces that drive word of mouth, including social currency and high-arousal emotions like awe and ange ...  Show more

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” -Alice Walker  Over the past year, a lot has changed. Many of us have had to pivot our work situations, how we educate our children, and how we connect with our loved ones. Some folks have strug ...  Show more

Since humanity’s earliest days, we’ve been plagued by countless disease-causing pathogens. Invisible and persistent, these microorganisms and the illnesses they incur have killed more humans than anything else in history. But which disease has been the deadliest? Dan Kwartler dig ...  Show more

The CDC’s list of highest priority bioterrorism agents is a short one, with only six pathogens making the cut. Among the more familiar names on the list, such as anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, and viral hemorrhagic fevers, is the topic of today’s episode: Francisella ...

Here on the podcast, we’re no strangers to multi-host parasites with complicated life cycles, intricate ecologies and dense human histories. But human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) might require the most unpacking yet. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the tsetse fly-transm ...  Show more