The Tainted Polio Story

Happy Halloween, fellow Conspiracy Realists. Whether or not you're religious, you've doubtlessly heard all sorts of stuff about the Biblical Devil. Ethics aside, he's one of the most well-known characters in all of literature. And he occurs in way more than just religious texts. ...  Show more

Big Cheese responds to the episode on smart dust, prompting a conversation about Magic: The Gathering. Privacy Guy shares a story about a trading card heist. Void inspires an exploration of weaponized absurdity. Plus Codename PinBrock reveals a huge mac and cheese conspiracy. Joi ...  Show more

For more than half of the 20th century parents in the industrialized world were freaked out by an unseen waster of youth, the poliovirus. It spread easily and could paralyze children for life or even kill them. Its effects were so horrible that humanity set about ridding if fr ...

In the 1950s, polio spread throughout the United States. Heartbreakingly, it affected mainly children. Thousands died. Thousands more were paralyzed. Many ended up surviving only in iron lungs, a machine that breathed for polio victims, sometimes for years. Scientists raced to fi ...  Show more

This 2011 episode from prior hosts Sarah and Deblina covers polio, a threat in the early 20th century that often left victims paralyzed or dead. Vaccines caused an immediate drop in polio cases and today have nearly eradicated the disease. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...  Show more