Episodes

  • The 1980 Red Sweat Epidemic
    May 31 2026

    In 1980, flight attendants began apparently sweating blood on flights between New York and Florida. The CDC investigated. The explanation was not what anyone expected. Also featuring blue sweat, pink sweat, and the only diagnostic dilemma ever solved by a dermatologist ringing a snack-food manufacturer.

    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • The Itchy & Scratchy Show
    May 24 2026

    This episode explores the biology of itching. Including NASA’s emergency Velcro patches, exploding lice in World War I trenches, contagious scratching, "amphetamites", mosquito mouth-javelins, and the imaginary insects produced by the human brain itself.

    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • What Does Your Urine Say About You?
    May 17 2026

    This episode explores what urine can reveal about you — from pregnancy and diabetes to drugs, disease, and genetic disorders. Including ancient Egyptian pregnancy tests, beetroot-induced panic, blue urine pranks, and why IKEA once asked women to wee on their catalogue.

    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
  • The Strange Science of Sneezing
    May 10 2026

    This episode examines the odd biology and even odder rituals surrounding sneezing. Including sunlight sneezes, chocolate sneezes, and why on earth we feel compelled to bless them.


    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Doctor, or Piss Prophet?
    May 3 2026

    For thousands of years, doctors believed urine revealed the hidden workings of the body. By peering at a patient’s wee, they diagnosed everything from epilepsy to death — sometimes without even meeting the patient.

    This episode explores the strange history of uroscopy, the rise of the “piss prophets”, and why modern doctors still occasionally ask you for a wee sample today.

    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • When Doctors Got it Wrong: Prescribing the Sun
    Apr 26 2026

    If you were feeling sickly 100 years ago, your doctor might have prescribed a loincloth, a bed, and a sun-drenched balcony in the Swiss Alps. No blood tests or scans — your degree of tan would determine your prognosis.

    From sun worship to sun-gazing to Coco Chanel accidentally making bronzed skin chic, this episode explores the many ways medicine and mankind have misunderstood the sun.

    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
  • DNA, Twins, and the Serial Killer Who Never Existed
    Apr 19 2026

    Your DNA can build a body, grow a tumour, or implicate you in a crime. This episode explores what happens when DNA evidence meets identical twins, and why one of Europe’s most feared serial killers turned out to be much stranger than anyone expected.


    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
  • Could You Get a Voice Transplant?
    Apr 12 2026

    If you’ve ever heard a recording of your own voice, you may have wished for a voice transplant. But would it be possible? This episode explores why your voice is more than your voice box — and what it would actually take to sound like Elvis.


    Show More Show Less
    12 mins