Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: The definition of life is in flux, complexity is overrated, and humans are shrinking.
Viruses are supposed to be sleek, pared-down, dead-eyed machines. But when one microbiologist stumbled upon a GIANT virus, hundreds of times bigger than any seen before, all that went out the window. The discovery opened the door not only to a new cast of microscopic characters with names like Mimivirus, Mamavirus and Megavirus, but also to basic questions: How did we miss these until now? Have they been around since the beginning? What if evolution could go backwards?
In this episode from 2015, join former co-hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich as they grill Radiolab regular Carl Zimmer on these paradoxical viruses — they’re so big that they can get their own viruses! — and what they can tell us about the nature of life.
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Illustration Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
From the Radiolab podcast: The definition of life is in flux, complexity is overrated, and humans are shrinking.
Viruses are supposed to be sleek, pared-down, dead-eyed machines. But when one microbiologist stumbled upon a GIANT virus, hundreds of times bigger than any seen before, all that went out the window. The discovery opened the door not only to a new cast of microscopic characters with names like Mimivirus, Mamavirus and Megavirus, but also to basic questions: How did we miss these until now? Have they been around since the beginning? What if evolution could go backwards?
In this episode from 2015, join former co-hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich as they grill Radiolab regular Carl Zimmer on these paradoxical viruses — they’re so big that they can get their own viruses! — and what they can tell us about the nature of life.
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3trXDLe
🔎 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
Twitter — twitter.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It 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
Illustration Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
