Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: Wildfires, a mysterious outbreak, and a question — is there something in the smoke?
Two scenes. In the first, a doctor gets a call — the hospital she works at is having an outbreak of unknown origin, in the middle of the worst wildfire season on record. In the second, an ecologist stands in a forest, watching it burn. Through very different circumstances, they both find themselves asking the same question: is there something in the smoke? This question will bring them together, and reveal — to all of us — a world we never saw before.
This is the first episode in an ongoing series hosted by Molly Webster, in conversation with scientists and science-y people, doing work at the furthest edges of what we know. More to come!
Special thanks to Leda Kobziar, at the University of Idaho, and Naomi Hauser, at the University of California, Davis. Plus, James and Shelby Kaemmerer, and Paula and John Troche.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Hosted and Reported by Molly Webster.
Produced by Sindhu Gnanasambandan.
Fact-checking by Diane A. Kelly.
Edited by Pat Walters.
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Want to learn more about bacteria in snow-making machines? Check out this New York Times article: nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/its-buggy-out-there.html
Or this science-explainer: science.org/content/article/video-these-microbes-are-key-making-artificial-snow
Read Leda’s paper on microbes in smoke: nature.com/articles/s43705-022-00089-5
For more details on the outbreak at Naomi’s hospital, you can check out this abstract of her findings: academic.oup.com/ofid/article/9/Supplement_2/ofac492.1207/6902972
Leda was inspired to stick petri dishes into smoke after reading a science research paper written by a father-daughter team, as part of a high school science project in Texas. Go read it: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1352231003009142?casa_token=iLsF%5B%E2%80%A6%5DBlMGQwSjoh8BCrePmHCvqG8vlCC3i0tBAij9f3x53jbZpEsHlVssvKeupw
For further fungal listening, Radiolab and Molly have covered fungus and hospital outbreaks before (plus: dinosaurs!), in our episode "Fungus Amungus": radiolab.org/podcast/fungus-amungus
You can also listen to "Super Cool," a Radiolab episode about wild horses, microbes and things freezing instantaneously. (It’s seriously one of Molly’s favorite Radiolab episodes and it has a moment of such SPONTANEOUS joy, she re-plays it at least once a year to smile.) Listen here: radiolab.org/podcast/super-cool-2017
🎧 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:
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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
🌝 We have some exciting news! In our “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named our first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! We've teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Submit your name ideas now through September, or vote on your favorites starting in November: radiolab.org/moon
Listen to the "Zoozve" episode here: youtu.be/AA-1Xg2t0wQ
Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
From the Radiolab podcast: Wildfires, a mysterious outbreak, and a question — is there something in the smoke?
Two scenes. In the first, a doctor gets a call — the hospital she works at is having an outbreak of unknown origin, in the middle of the worst wildfire season on record. In the second, an ecologist stands in a forest, watching it burn. Through very different circumstances, they both find themselves asking the same question: is there something in the smoke? This question will bring them together, and reveal — to all of us — a world we never saw before.
This is the first episode in an ongoing series hosted by Molly Webster, in conversation with scientists and science-y people, doing work at the furthest edges of what we know. More to come!
Special thanks to Leda Kobziar, at the University of Idaho, and Naomi Hauser, at the University of California, Davis. Plus, James and Shelby Kaemmerer, and Paula and John Troche.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Hosted and Reported by Molly Webster.
Produced by Sindhu Gnanasambandan.
Fact-checking by Diane A. Kelly.
Edited by Pat Walters.
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Want to learn more about bacteria in snow-making machines? Check out this New York Times article: nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/its-buggy-out-there.html
Or this science-explainer: science.org/content/article/video-these-microbes-are-key-making-artificial-snow
Read Leda’s paper on microbes in smoke: nature.com/articles/s43705-022-00089-5
For more details on the outbreak at Naomi’s hospital, you can check out this abstract of her findings: academic.oup.com/ofid/article/9/Supplement_2/ofac492.1207/6902972
Leda was inspired to stick petri dishes into smoke after reading a science research paper written by a father-daughter team, as part of a high school science project in Texas. Go read it: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1352231003009142?casa_token=iLsF%5B%E2%80%A6%5DBlMGQwSjoh8BCrePmHCvqG8vlCC3i0tBAij9f3x53jbZpEsHlVssvKeupw
For further fungal listening, Radiolab and Molly have covered fungus and hospital outbreaks before (plus: dinosaurs!), in our episode "Fungus Amungus": radiolab.org/podcast/fungus-amungus
You can also listen to "Super Cool," a Radiolab episode about wild horses, microbes and things freezing instantaneously. (It’s seriously one of Molly’s favorite Radiolab episodes and it has a moment of such SPONTANEOUS joy, she re-plays it at least once a year to smile.) Listen here: radiolab.org/podcast/super-cool-2017
🎧 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
X (Twitter) — twitter.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Threads — threads.net/@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
🌝 We have some exciting news! In our “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named our first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! We've teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Submit your name ideas now through September, or vote on your favorites starting in November: radiolab.org/moon
Listen to the "Zoozve" episode here: youtu.be/AA-1Xg2t0wQ
Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
