Infectous Dose Episodes

What does the August 10 vaccine executive order actually do? A clear look at childhood vaccine changes, MMR, access, insurance, and what parents should know.

Outbreak Watch: Get the latest updates on Active Outbreaks, Global Signals, and Surveillance Milestones

Explore the hidden microbial world of freshwater lakes, including swimmer's itch, harmful algal blooms, Naegleria fowleri, and how scientists monitor water quality.

Step inside a 1920s speakeasy to explore medicinal whiskey, Prohibition, and the surprising history of medicine before antibiotics.

Summary For centuries, hospitals were places where patients often acquired deadly infections instead of recovering from illness. In this final installment of our Turning Points in Infectious Disease series, we trace the remarkable transformation that changed that reality. From Ignaz Semmelweis's controversial handwashing campaign in a Vienna maternity ward to Louis Pasteur's germ theory, Joseph Lister's antiseptic surgery, and Florence Nightingale's vision for cleaner, health

Outbreak Watch: Get the latest updates on Ebola, New World screwworm, U.S. cyclosporiasis, H5 avian influenza, and why disease surveillance matters.

Discover how Edward Jenner's bold experiment transformed medicine, launched the science of vaccination, and helped eradicate smallpox in this episode of Infectious Dose exploring one of history's greatest public health turning points.

Discover how infectious disease transformed military history in Holding the Line: How Prevention Became Military Strategy. From George Washington and Florence Nightingale to Walter Reed, military vaccination, COVID aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and today's influenza outbreaks, explore the history of force health protection and preventive medicine.

Podcast episode on New World screwworm: how sterile insect releases eradicated a flesh‑eating parasite from North America, why Texas is seeing new screwworm cases in 2026, and what this outbreak reveals about prevention and the consequences of disabling the public health infrastructure that protects us.

Why do mosquito bites itch? In this Outbreak After Dark episode, explore how mosquitoes find hosts, take blood meals, spread disease, and trigger the immune response—all from the perspective of a Gulf Coast summer night.

Outbreak Watch: Line of Sight examines the growing Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the Hondius hantavirus response, and emerging screwworm detections in the U.S., exploring how surveillance, visibility, and uncertainty shape outbreak response.

Why can we smell rain? Explore the science of petrichor, geosmin, soil microbes, and the memories connected to summer storms in this immersive podcast episode.

How can a tick bite make someone allergic to red meat months later? Explore the mystery, science, diagnosis, and history of alpha-gal syndrome in this episode of Infectious Dose.

Hurricanes don't create pathogens—they change exposure. Learn about floodwater infections, mold, mosquitoes, food safety, and hurricane preparedness in this Infectious Dose episode.

Outbreak update covering the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda, the Andes hantavirus cruise cluster, and growing global public-health strain.

Outbreak After Dark explores the true crime case that brought forensic virology into court and asked: can a virus testify?

What is Ebola really — and how does it spread? This episode explores Ebola transmission, pathogenesis, outbreak history, and the 2026 Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda.

Part 2 of Infectious Dose’s Andes virus cruise ship investigation explores new genomic evidence, WHO guidance, person-to-person transmission, and the public-health communication challenges surrounding the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak.

A science-based breakdown of the hantavirus cruise outbreak, including airborne transmission, Andes virus, person-to-person spread, and how to communicate honestly during evolving outbreaks.

A deep dive into the strangest medical treatments in history—from bloodletting and mercury to tobacco smoke enemas and early infection therapies—exploring how medicine evolved before germ theory and what those practices reveal about the origins of modern science.