For most of us, there probably hasn’t been a good reason for you to think about your gallbladder. Ever. Much of the time, it sits there, silently storing, concentrating, and, when needed, churning out bile every day. But occasionally, this unassuming organ will announce itself through waves of unceasing, excruciating pain brought on by a blockage of some sort. Why it does this to us, what we do about it, and how we can live a gallbladder-free life are just some of the things we cover in this episode. We’re also taking this opportunity to deep dive into the substance most closely associated with the gallbladder: bile. Bile plays an outsized role in the history of medicine, mostly through its role as one of the four humors in the humoral theory of disease. Are you of a choleric temperament or is your vibe more sanguine? Maybe melancholic or phlegmatic suits you better. Don’t know what the heck we’re talking about? Tune in to find out.

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In the first years of the COVID pandemic, a debate raged: was the virus transmitted via respiratory droplets, or was it airborne? For some, this distinction seemed overly technical, pedantic even. But for others, it represented decades of dismissal and missed opportunities - opportunities that had cost untold lives. In this week’s TPWKY book club episode, renowned science writer and journalist Carl Zimmer joins us to discuss his latest book Airborne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, which uncovers the long-forgotten story of an entire field of study - aerobiology - and the pioneering scientists who discovered life where there was thought to be none. Tune in for a fascinating conversation about why airborne transmission matters and the incredible work that some researchers are doing to breathe new life into its study.

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Last week, we took you on a journey of discovery and innovation, and this week we’re gonna tell you how the heck it all works. That means a deep dive into the nitty gritty of SSRIs, from what serotonin does (A LOT, as it turns out), to why blocking its uptake has the effects it does, from the different side effects of SSRIs, to how effective they really are. The discourse surrounding this class of drugs is complicated and contradictory, and this episode provides lots of answers and some terrible baseball metaphors to help you make sense of SSRIs.

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