The Infantorium

In the early 20th century, nothing quite fit — fire hoses couldn't connect to one another, football teams played with different balls, traffic lights meant different things in different states. Then World War II exposed the deadly cost of incompatibility, and the US quietly impos ...  Show more

What started as a revolutionary treatment for river blindness became something far messier. Listen to Drug Story wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Ap ...  Show more

Babies who are born too early often get extra care in the hospital at the NICU, or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. But the NICU didn’t always exist – and it took doctors a long time to figure out how to care for these babies. Join Joy, co-host Betty and their pal Ruby Guthrie to he ...  Show more

Nowadays, incubators are a common sight in hospitals across the US -- but, once upon a time, this life-saving technology was treated like a sideshow attraction. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to 'Infantoriums' to marvel at how incubators were able to keep babies born pre ...  Show more

Nowadays premature babies – born at 24 or 28 weeks - can go on to live long happy lives. But a baby’s chance of survival rests a great deal on where they’re born, the quality of medical care they’ll receive and how quickly they get it. Unicef says that in South Sudan, 40 babies f ...  Show more

More than 200 babies, known as the “Hicks Babies,” were sold by Dr. Thomas Hicks from the back of the Hicks Community Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia during the 1950s and 1960s. Until his actions came to light, he was a respected and beloved doctor in McCaysville, known for helpin ...  Show more