Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: The womb mate we’ve all had, but barely know.
We all think we know the story of pregnancy. Sperm meets egg, followed by nine months of nurturing, nesting, and quiet incubation. this story isn’t the nursery rhyme we think it is. In a way, it’s a struggle, almost like a tiny war. And right on the front lines of that battle is another major player on the stage of pregnancy that not a single person on the planet would be here without. An entirely new organ: the placenta.
In this episode, which we originally released in 2021, we take you on a journey through the 270-day life of this weird, squishy, gelatinous orb, and discover that it is so much more than an organ. It’s a foreign invader. A piece of meat. A friend and parent. And it’s perhaps the most essential piece in the survival of our kind.
This episode was reported by Heather Radke and Becca Bressler, and produced by Becca Bressler and Pat Walters, with help from Matt Kielty and Maria Paz Gutiérrez. Additional reporting by Molly Webster.
Special thanks to Diana Bianchi, Julia Katz, Sam Behjati, Celia Bardwell-Jones, Mathilde Cohen, Hannah Ingraham, Pip Lipkin and Molly Fassler.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Heather Radke and Becca Bressler
with help from Molly Webster
Produced by Becca Bressler
with help from Pat Walters, Maria Paz Gutiérrez
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Articles:
Check out Harvey’s latest paper (sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143400421001284) published with Julia Katz.
Sam Behjati's latest paper (sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310122521.htm) on the placenta as a "genetic dumping ground".
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Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
From the Radiolab podcast: The womb mate we’ve all had, but barely know.
We all think we know the story of pregnancy. Sperm meets egg, followed by nine months of nurturing, nesting, and quiet incubation. this story isn’t the nursery rhyme we think it is. In a way, it’s a struggle, almost like a tiny war. And right on the front lines of that battle is another major player on the stage of pregnancy that not a single person on the planet would be here without. An entirely new organ: the placenta.
In this episode, which we originally released in 2021, we take you on a journey through the 270-day life of this weird, squishy, gelatinous orb, and discover that it is so much more than an organ. It’s a foreign invader. A piece of meat. A friend and parent. And it’s perhaps the most essential piece in the survival of our kind.
This episode was reported by Heather Radke and Becca Bressler, and produced by Becca Bressler and Pat Walters, with help from Matt Kielty and Maria Paz Gutiérrez. Additional reporting by Molly Webster.
Special thanks to Diana Bianchi, Julia Katz, Sam Behjati, Celia Bardwell-Jones, Mathilde Cohen, Hannah Ingraham, Pip Lipkin and Molly Fassler.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Heather Radke and Becca Bressler
with help from Molly Webster
Produced by Becca Bressler
with help from Pat Walters, Maria Paz Gutiérrez
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Articles:
Check out Harvey’s latest paper (sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143400421001284) published with Julia Katz.
Sam Behjati's latest paper (sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310122521.htm) on the placenta as a "genetic dumping ground".
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: lnk.to/radiolab!youtube
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: radiolab.org/newsletter
🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: bit.ly/3sX8f4P
👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment!
Follow Radiolab:
Instagram — instagram.com/radiolab
X — https://x.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Threads — threads.net/@radiolab
TikTok — tiktok.com/@radiolab
Our newsletter includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: radiolab.org/newsletter
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
