This Podcast Will Kill You - Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

This Podcast Will Kill You – Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts — Games & Hobbies
This Podcast Will Kill You – Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

This podcast might not actually kill you, but Erin Welsh and Erin Allmann Updyke cover so many things that can. In each episode, they tackle a different topic, teaching listeners about the biology, history, and epidemiology of a different disease or medical mystery. They do the scientific research, so you don’t have to.

Since 2017, Erin and Erin have explored chronic and infectious diseases, medications, poisons, viruses, bacteria and scientific discoveries. They’ve researched public health subjects including plague, Zika, COVID-19, lupus, asbestos, endometriosis and more.

Each episode is accompanied by a creative quarantini cocktail recipe and a non-alcoholic placeborita.

Erin Welsh, Ph.D. is a co-host of the This Podcast Will Kill You. She is a disease ecologist and epidemiologist and works full-time as a science communicator through her work on the podcast. Erin Allmann Updyke, MD, Ph.D. is a co-host of This Podcast Will Kill You. She’s an epidemiologist and disease ecologist currently in the final stretch of her family medicine residency program.

This Podcast Will Kill You is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including science, true crime, comedic interviews, news, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, Buried Bones, That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast and more.

Copyright: 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

Latest Episodes:

Special Episode: Daniel Stone & American Poison Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

The widespread use of leaded gasoline in the 20th century led to one of the world’s biggest public health and environmental disasters, the effects of which are still present today. Since its development in the 1920s, leaded gasoline has been linked to premature death, cognitive impairment, and behavioral issues in millions around the globe. How was such a toxic substance permitted to be sold, despite the tireless efforts of industrial medicine warriors like Alice Hamilton? In American Poison: A Deadly Invention and the Woman Who Battled for Environmental Justice, award-winning author and historian Daniel Stone tells the story of leaded gasoline - its heroes, its villains, and the lessons we can learn. What will emerge as this generation’s leaded gasoline? PFAS? Microplastics? Something else entirely? History doesn’t have to repeat, but it will unless we heed the lessons of the past. Tune in for a fascinating episode!

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 197 Detox: Enemas for everyone Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

Ah, the new year. After the last month and a half of indulgent food and drink, disrupted schedules, and laying around the house, who doesn’t feel like they’re in need of a whole-body cleanse? There are plenty of companies who are more than happy to provide that product or service that promises to flush away toxins from your skin, gut, blood, brain, you name it. But what exactly are they selling you? In this episode, we explore the deep roots of the ever-expanding detox industry and the concept behind its billions of dollars in revenue: detoxification. What does detoxification even mean? Is there any truth to the claims that a certain diet or superfood or supplement or colonic or drink or enema or chelation therapy can “detoxify” you? Tune in to find out how many synonyms for scam we can come up with.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Vault - Endometriosis: Menstrual Backwash (Ep 88) Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

This episode originally aired on January 11th, 2022.

Chances are you know someone with endometriosis, or perhaps you’re affected yourself. But despite its incredibly high prevalence, endo remains almost criminally understudied, undertreated, and underacknowledged. In this episode, we aim to shed light on many aspects of endometriosis, first by examining the “what” and “how” of this disease: what’s actually going on inside your body with endometriosis and how does it cause the symptoms that it does? Then we turn our sights to the why, exploring not only the possible evolutionary origins of this disease but also the deep historical roots contributing to the struggle many people still face today in obtaining a diagnosis. We discuss how although hysteria is no longer a valid medical diagnosis, it has left its mark on medicine in the form of implicit bias that leaves many people feeling unlistened to and unbelieved. We then wrap up the episode with a look at endometriosis by the numbers and some current research that leaves us feeling slightly more hopeful about the growing awareness of this disease and the need for effective treatments.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Vault - Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2 (Ep 89) Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

This episode originally aired on January 25th, 2022.

In light of the recent changes by RFK jr’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to eliminate the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in the US, a decision which will result in preventable infections and deaths in this country every year, it seems timely to remind everyone of the global consequences of this incredibly prevalent pathogen.

This week, we’re dipping a toe back into the vast waters of hepatitis viruses, this time with a focus on hepatitis B. The hepatitis B virus, though second to be named, was first to be discovered, and effective vaccines and treatments have been available for decades. Yet the global prevalence of this virus remains staggering, with nearly 300 million people chronically infected and 1.5 million new infections annually. So what’s going on? In this episode, we weave our way through the complicated biology of this virus and its deadly potential, the strange history of its identification that shows that you don't have to be looking for something to find it, and the current status of this virus that underlines how safe, effective tools for disease prevention are only as good as our delivery infrastructure. We are also so excited to be joined by Dr. Su Wang, Medical Director for the Center for Asian Health & Viral Hepatitis Programs at the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center and outgoing President of the World Hepatitis Alliance.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 196 Health Myths: Fact or fiction? Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

Did your grandma ever warn you against going out in the cold with wet hair because “you’ll catch your death”? Or have you ever tossed a few more carrots into your shopping basket in the hope that they’ll improve your vision? There are countless health myths about how to prevent or treat disease, what food will give you superhuman powers or turn your kid into a whirlwind of energy. But is there any truth to them? Let’s find out. In this episode, we review a handful of the most popular health myths, exploring their origins and scouring them for any scrap of truth. Tune in to learn whether these myths are fact, fiction, or somewhere in between!

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Episode: Dr. Homer Venters & Outbreak Behind Bars Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

[Content warning: self-harm, suicide, violence]

In this day and age, we are equipped with an abundance of tools and knowledge to fight the spread of disease. Yet what good does that toolkit do if we lack the resources or the will to implement it where it is needed? One area of great need is our correctional facilities, our prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, and juvenile detention centers. In these settings, communicable disease is often allowed to spread unchecked, leading to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Meaningful change is needed, but what might that look like? In this week’s TPWKY book club episode, Dr. Homer Venters joins us to discuss his latest work, Outbreak Behind Bars: Spider Bites, Human Rights, and the Unseen Danger to Public Health. As the former Chief Medical Officer of the New York City jail system and through his current role as a federal monitor of health services in several jail and prison settings, Dr. Venters has extensive firsthand knowledge of the barriers that prevent adequate medical care to be delivered to these populations. And he has evidence-based solutions. Tune in for a necessary discussion of this humanitarian crisis.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 195 Salt Part 2: The Substance Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

We ended last week’s episode on a bit of a cliffhanger: is salt actually bad for us and if so, why does there still seem to be a debate? This week’s episode holds all the answers. We’re sifting through the noise to figure out what salt actually does in our bodies, how it might impact our health, and why we crave this delicious substance. If you’ve ever wondered how we’ve arrived at the maximum daily sodium intake (2300 mg for adults) and why salt impacts blood pressure, then this is the episode for you!

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 194 Salt Part 1: The Seasoning Nov 25, 2025

Show notes

Have you ever thrown a pinch of spilled salt over your left shoulder? Or said to someone “well, take his opinion with a grain of salt”? Or looked up the potential salary of a job listing? Salt is so deeply embedded in our cultures, our languages, our history as a species that we often take its influence for granted. We may forget (or perhaps we never knew) how much history is held within the unassuming yet ubiquitous salt shaker. In the first installment of this two-parter on everyone’s favorite seasoning, we delve deep into some salt lore. When did humans start to ramp up their salt intake? Why was salt such a big deal? Which places are named for salt? When did we start worrying about how much sodium we were eating? Tune in for a fun, fact-filled episode that’ll forever change the way you think about salt.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

In an anatomy and physiology class, you may learn how the different heart valves work to circulate your blood, how the structure of your kidney helps to maintain electrolyte levels, and how the expansion and contraction of your lungs sets off a carefully orchestrated cascade of gas exchange and transport. The human body is an endlessly fascinating machine. But when you spend so much time learning about the body, you can lose sight of the fact that it isn’t a machine. It is the story of your life. In this book club installment, I am joined by surgeon and award-winning writer Gabriel Weston to discuss her latest book Alive: Our Bodies and the Richness and Brevity of Existence. In this compelling blend of memoir, science, and meditation, Weston examines different body parts chapter by chapter - what they have meant to her or her loved ones, their significance in history, and how their meanings are shaped by our scientific understanding. Weston inspires readers to take a moment to reflect on what it’s like to live in your body, feel your heart beat, your lungs expand. Doing so can help us connect with ourselves and others. Tune in for a delightful conversation!

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep 193 Necrotizing Fasciitis: A strange beast Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

If you were asked to describe necrotizing fasciitis in three words, you might choose: rapid, deadly, and rare. The third of those adjectives may provide some comfort, but the first two are the clear inspiration for this infection’s more lurid nickname: flesh-eating bacteria. In this episode, we get up close and personal with necrotizing fasciitis and its causative agents. We start off by examining step by step how these infections wreak so much havoc and why doctors still struggle with its treatment. Then we take a tour through its grisly history, featuring maritime misadventures and wicked war wounds. We wrap up the story with a look at the global trends in these infections as well as some promising new research. This episode may not be for the faint of heart, but it is for the endlessly curious.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Related Podcasts