The Everything Vaccine

About this episode

From mild runny noses to savage pandemics, viruses and other pathogens have tormented humans for all of history. We are locked in a perpetual race against tiny shapeshifting enemies that mutate, spread, and occasionally butcher us. Can we ever win? Ben Bradford looks at the history and future of the race against our worst afflictions, from the dubious ethics of the first smallpox vaccine centuries ago, the strange and unbelievably gross story of the miraculous tuberculosis vaccine, and the current quest for a new breed of “universal” vaccines. It all points to a new puzzle inside our immune systems that, if solved, could allow an entirely different type of protection. Guests: Carl Zimmer, science writer and author of A Planet of Viruses Juliet Morrison, microbiologist at UC Riverside Watch earlier episodes on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@arewedoomedpod To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy