Radiolab

The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center—someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero—the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, Radiolab digs up an episode we first produced in 2011 and hunts for Patient Zeroes from all over the map. We start with the story of perhaps the most iconic Patient Zero of all time: Typhoid Mary. Then, we dive into a molecular detective story to pinpoint the beginning of the AIDS, and we re-imagine the moment the virus that caused the global pandemic sprang to life. After that, we're left wondering if you can trace the spread of an idea the way you can trace the spread of a disease. In the end, we find ourselves faced with a choice between competing claims about the origin of the high five. 

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Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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In 2016, Chris Bell, a ranger with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, was the sole human inhabitant of a small island off the west coast of the country, called Mana Island. He was there to take care of the island’s fragile and recovering ecosystem, including a colony of Australasian Gannets at the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. But there was one catch. All but one of these striking seabirds were fake, made of concrete and paint. 

This week on Radiolab, producer Annie McEwen tells us a love story about a rogue bird and what happens when the things we want for animals clash with what they seem to choose for themselves. 

Special thanks to Melody Thomas and Kirsten Johnstone from Popsock Media, the New Zealand-based podcast company. Thanks also to Mathias Kom and Ariel Sharratt from The Burning Hell and Steven Lambke at You’ve Changed Records. 

Visit Friends of Mana Island at https://manaisland.org.nz/ to learn more about conservation efforts on Mana Island.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by - Annie McEwen

Produced by - Annie McEwen

with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom

Fact-checking by - Diane A. Kelly

and Edited by - Alex Neason

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Videos - 

There are many Nigel-inspired songs and poems, find links to a few of them below:

See Nigel with his concrete mate (https://zpr.io/kZZC9erwauCD)

Nigel the Gannet song video by The Burning Hell (theburninghell.com)

Nigel [w/ score] (https://zpr.io/t47J6VkqAXLj) by Angus Davison

Nigel the Lonely Seabird (https://zpr.io/4gSSv5MX8xTa) by Daniel Henderson

Nigel (https://zpr.io/FuLupaZG42sn) by Avem

Nigel No Mates (https://zpr.io/hckrSSdBXKE9 ) by Dainius Kučinskas

Nigel Gannet (https://zpr.io/kddxySdXqd3C) by Fred Pilcher

Nigel (https://zpr.io/88HdTWRSd2UF) an Experimental Animated Short Film About a Lonely Gannet

Literature - 

Poetry inspired by Nigel the Gannet (https://zpr.io/xBiW9usvAkpy)

 

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Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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It was the early '80s, the height of the Cold War, when something strange began happening off the coast of Sweden. The navy reported a mysterious sound deep below the surface of the ocean. Again, and again, and again they would hear it near their secret military bases, in their harbors, and up and down the Swedish coastline. After thorough analysis the navy was certain. The sound was an invasion into their waters, an act of war, the opening salvos of a possible nuclear annihilation. Or was it? Today, Annie McEwen pulls us down into a deep-sea mystery, one of international intrigue that asks you to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, your deepest beliefs could be as solid as...air.

Special thanks to Ben Wilson, Ola Tunander, Hans Gordon, Andreas Timmelstad, Klaus Helmersen, and Meg Bolz.

LATERAL CUTS -

Atomic Artifacts (https://radiolab.org/podcast/atomic-artifacts)

Neither Confirm Nor Deny (https://radiolab.org/podcast/confirm-nor-deny)

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by - Annie McEwin

with help from - Magnus Ormstadt

Produced by - Annie McEwin, Matt Kielty, Sarah Qari

Original music and sound design contributed by - Jeremy Bloom

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Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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When no one seems to be listening, how far do you go to be heard?

In December 2008, George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad for a press conference. And at the very end of his remarks, a shoe came flying past his head. 

It was “the shoe heard around the world,” and countless jokes and memes ensued. 

But in the pandemonium, many missed the story of the man at the center: Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, a weary journalist trying to get the world to see the Iraq War in a different light. Even fewer people know what happened to him after. 

Nearly two decades later, Radiolab reporter Sarah Qari tracked Al-Zaidi down to learn the story of his life. What she found was a story about grief, anger, and the line where journalism ends and protest begins.

Special thanks to Azmat Khan and Mustafa Salim.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by Sarah Qari, with help from Mariam Dwedar

Translation by Mais Al-Bayaa and Mariam Dwedar

Produced by Sarah Qari

Sound design contributed by  Sarah Qari 

Mixed by Jeremy Bloom

Editing help from Annie McEwen

Fact-checking by Emily Krieger and Heba Elorbany

LATERAL CUTS:

If you liked this episode and want to hear more fascinating deep dives we’ve done on The War on Terror, check out our episode:

60 Words (https://radiolab.org/podcast/60-words),

or our series The Other Latif (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/other-latif)

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Collaborator’s Work - 

Mariam Dwedar (https://www.mariamdwedar.com/)

Made in Palestine (https://zpr.io/JBAuqi5zyZMT) - a documentary short

@mariamdwedar - Instagram handle



Mais Al-Bayaa

Iraq Uncovered (https://zpr.io/ebuUcjSFcUJp) - documentary

Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade (https://zpr.io/u9HnCWmnQggG) - documentary

Go Back to Where You Came From (https://zpr.io/J8rxafGCCgUA) - documentary

@maisalbayaa - Instagram



Journal Articles _

The Art of Shoe-Throwing: Shoes as a Symbol of Protest and Popular Imagination (https://zpr.io/6gmuuavLWuHu),  by Yasmin Ibrahim

Films - 

The President’s Cake (https://zpr.io/bjFeNa2qFYvD) - A story of life in Iraq under sanctions during the 1990s.

Inspired by the shoe throw - 

Photos of shoe protests around the world (https://zpr.io/QsMGyWeK8MRR)

This music video (https://zpr.io/Xi5XhHYmWFHv)

This Halloween costume (https://zpr.io/fH97iB4fjL9U)

This play (https://zpr.io/Naj7vWaYfzpv)

If you want more fun facts that didn’t make it into the story, follow Sarah at @bysarahqari on Instagram, where she’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks.

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Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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Several years ago, in 2016, we told a story about Amy Pearl. For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. And then one day, for seemingly no reason, her body wouldn’t tolerate it.  No steaks. No brisket. No weenies. It made no sense: why couldn’t she eat something that she had routinely enjoyed for decades? 

It turned out Amy was not alone. And the answer to her mysterious allergy involved maps, a dancing lone star tick, and a very particular sugar called Alpha Gal. 

In this update, we discover that our troubles with Alpha Gal go way beyond food. We go to NYU Langone Health hospital to see the second ever transplant of a kidney from a pig into a human, talk to some people at Revivicor, the company that bred the pig in question, and go back to Amy to find out what she thinks about this brave new world.

The original episode was reported by Latif Nasser, and produced by Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty. Sound design and scoring from Dylan Keefe, Annie McEwen, and Matt Kielty. Mix by Dylan Keefe with Arianne Wack.

The update was reported and produced by Sarah Qari. It was sound designed, scored, and mixed by Jeremy Bloom.

LATERAL CUTS:

How does a tick bit can cause a red meat allergy? - An episode from our friends over at Science Friday, who had a recent conversation with the researcher who discovered the connection, decades ago.  

Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.   

Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].
Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.