In today's episode, Harini shares the incredible story of The Freedom House Ambulance Service. Freedom House was the first emergency medical service in the United States to provide training beyond first aid and other amazing things, such as being the first emergency service to supply Narcan in overdose cases! Freedom House, staffed entirely by blac…

In today's episode, Megan provides a step-by-step update on her compounded semaglutide journey. She and Harini also contemplate the quick but quiet death of the Ozempic craze (at least by frenzied-netizen-discourse standards). Why were we all so passionately opiniated about Ozempic for five months, and now can barely get DailyMail to cover it? And …

"AI, so hot right now. AI." - Mugatu In today's episode, Harini and Megan discuss the perceived implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. MegaSyn, an AI drug discovery platform originally invented to develop drugs to combat orphan (rare) diseases, made waves in 2021 when it's creators discovered that a simple change of code would …

In today's episode, Megan talks about the slime-tastic world of snail mucin and how, in the past 10 years, it has gained a foothold in the beauty/skincare industry. Is slime mucin simply a gimmicky ingredient advertised to coerce the curious (or desperate) to shell out more money on skincare products? Or does it actually have scientifically-backed …

We're back(!)... with a continuation of Harini's coverage of significant Golden Goose Recipients. In today's episode, Harini talks about 2019 Golden Goose awardees, Dr. Jack Levin and Dr. Frederik Bang, who pioneered the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) Test by identifying the sterilizing potential of horseshoe crab blood. To this day, the blood of h…

In today's episode, Harini regales us with the origin story of the Golden Goose Awards (formerly Golden Fleece Awards) - a designation given to impactful research projects that, from the outset, may not seem potentially beneficial to society, but end up being so. One such project involved an obsession with cone snails and their ability to paralyze …

Yup, there was another latex spill and, yup, we're covering it! Happy Earth Day? In this episode, Harini and Megan chat with long-time friend and Philly resident, Arizona Milotich, about the latex spill in Philadelphia (Delware River) this past March. What happens when the sixth most populous city in the United States suddenly faces water insecurit…

In today's episode, Harini introduces Megan to Thomas Midgley Jr., the inventor of leaded gasoline and freon, two of the most harmful industrial pollutants to captivate the world. To this day, local environments and the ozone are still on long journeys to recovery. In this episode: Ep. 48 - One Rock to Rule Them All Ep. 109 - Environmental Disaster…

In today's episode, Harini and Megan discuss the recent pop-culture fascination in weight loss drugs. Specifically Ozempic, Wegovy, and generic semaglutide. What are these drugs, what do they do, and why have they (allegedly) taken the celebrity world by storm? Are these drugs legitimately controversial or has the online zeitgeist created artificia…

In today's episode, Megan gives a quick mycology lesson on the most poisonous mushroom in the world: the DEATH CAP. Equipped with a toxin that inhibits DNA transcription, and whose only antidote (in extreme cases) is a liver transplant, this mushy is truly as metal as it's name. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Happy International Women's Day! If you're looking to learn about a rockstar woman scientist, check out Episode 40 - The Mirror Image Disaster. In it, we talk about Dr. Frances Oldhem Kelsey, the FDA scientist who single-handedly fought to keep Thalidomide off the market and out of our medicine cabinets. In today's episode, Harini teaches Megan abo…

We've been keeping a close eye on the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It has been over three weeks since the 38-car freight train derailed and leaked toxic chemicals - most significantly, vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate - into the soil. In an effort towards containment, the EPA authorized a control burn of these chemica…

In today's episode, Megan addresses the recent uptick in public interest in fungi and fungal infections as a result of HBO's newest series, The Last of Us. When the series aired, frenzied netizens were quick to take to online forums - Reddit, TikTok - to draw parallels between the show/video game and real life. Zombifying fungi do exist in the real…

In Riverside, CA, 1994, a young woman by the name of Gloria Cecilia Ramirez was admitted to the emergency department of Riverside General Hospital for tachycardia and abnormal respiratory patterns. As emergency staff proceeded with defribillation, it was observed that Gloria's body was covered in an oily sheen and was emitting a garlicky-fruity sme…

This is the epic story of Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, an American chemist who pulled back the curtain on the unregulated, U.S. food industry of the late 1800s. With the assistance of his "Poison Squad" - a group of test subjects who willingly volunteered to eat food preserved with toxic substances such as formaldehyde and borax - and the indirect …

We're rounding out the Four Big Pollution Disasters/Diseases of Japan with Yokkaichi asthma. Yokkaichi asthma was the name given to a breadth of respiratory ailments that the people of Yokkaichi, Japan suffered due to negligent industrial plant practices between 1960-1970. Sodium dioxide and sodium trioxide (in the form of acid mist) filled the ski…

Harini is launching a YouTube channel! Today I Learned Science by Dr. Harini Bhat goes live on Thursday, January 26th at 12pm PST. Click the link below and subscribe for additional, riveting science content that goes beyond the world of toxicology and poison. https://youtube.com/@tilscience In this episode, we discuss Itai Itai disease - one of the…

In this episode, Harini gives us a rundown of the history of vitamins and supplements. An unexpected byproduct of post-WWII, high-yield agricultural practices and the development of genetically modified, disease-resistant grains, supplements and supplemental vitamins quickly became a household staple to accommodate for nutrient-poor food. In less t…

In this episode, Harini explains the importance of permafrost and how this frozen slurry of soil, rocks, and sand is the guardian of millennia-old bacteria, fungi, and viruses! Permafrost has become a greater topic of public interest as concerns around climate change and the reduction of our greater carbon footprint have intensified within the last…

In our first episode of 2023, Harini introduces us to Dartmouth professor and chemist Karen Wetterhahn, who specialized in toxic metal exposure. In the 1990s, Dr. Wetterhahn was a tour de force in the world of toxic metal research and greatly influenced an increased interest among women to pursue science majors through Dartmouth College's Women in …

Today we are celebrating our 100th episode! Join us as we reminisce on our favorite episodes and test each other's knowledge in a game of Deadly Dose trivia! We want to give a big, BIG "thank you" to all of the Poison Pals out there who have inspired us to keep creating and sharing these crazy, wonderful stories about science and poison. We could n…

In today's episode, Harini reviews the new Netflix documentary Capturing the Killer Nurse, a supplement to the streaming platform's recently released The Good Nurse. Both films depict the actions and eventual capture of serial killer Charles Cullen, and how the self-interest of healthcare employers and prioritization of hospital reputations ultimat…

In this episode, Megan takes us on an underwater adventure to swim alongside the magnificent and often misunderstood stingray! Megan even shares her own personal experience of being stung by one of these silly water pancakes, the traumatic event that inspired this episode! So don't hit that shuffle button just yet. The only shuffling we're doing to…

In today's episode, Harini provides a play-by-play of The Good Nurse, Netflix's recent true-crime biopic that details the harrowing story of nurse Amy Loughren who became a confidential informant for the New Jersey Police Department in their efforts to catch serial killer Charles Cullen. Cullen was a nurse who moved discreetly within the healthcare…

In this episode, Harini sheds light on Havana Syndrome, the mysterious ailment plaguing U.S. government officials since 2016. Alleged symptoms include auditory pain, ringing in the ears, and cognitive difficulty. Is this merely an example of mass psychogenic illness or is there something more malevolent in the air? Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/…

In 1969, a river in the midwest caught on fire for 24 minutes. Despite its minimal damage and zero death-toll, this short-lived fire had a lasting impact on the United States. Its legacy includes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Water Act, and Earth Day. How did this pitiful fire become a raging beacon in the battle against envi…

We wish this episode was about the best breakfast cocktail ever, but alas, it is not. In our final installment of our Spooktober Series, Megan talks about the origins of the most infamous urban legend that plagues slumber parties and tween girls everywhere. Who is Bloody Mary and why is the act of summoning her of particular fascination to children…

In today's episode, Harini takes us on a magical voyage through the Potterverse to study a handful of poisons and potions that have become iconic as world-building, plot devices in the series and franchise. Did you know that a majority of these enchanting elixirs and the lore behind them actually exist in the muggle world - our muggle world? Better…

For as long as humans have observed death, we still don't know a lot about what happens cognitively in our final days and hours. Anecdotes of dying loved ones seeing visions of deceased relatives or having moments of lucidity despite battling degenerative neurological diseases have been shared for centuries. What are deathbed visions and terminal (…

Spooktober is officially here! In our first installment of our annual Spooktober series, we're talking all about Vampyres. To this day, we still celebrate the seductive, undying, Euro-centric interpretation of vampires in our media, literature, and costumes despite being a centuries-old trope. What is the history and science behind the mythology th…

House of the Dragon on HBO Max has been out for over a month now and fans of the original Game of Thrones are having a field-day comparing the two storylines, ourselves included! In this episode, we wanted to talk about notable drugs and poisons that play a large role in the Song of Ice and Fire universe. Moon tea, anyone? If you liked this episode…

In the last six years, Jordan Peterson has become one of the most polarizing public intellectuals to grace mainstream news outlets. At the peak of his ascent to sociopolitical celebrity, he fell off the face of the Earth. After a year of silence, he returned to his Youtube fanbase (with the help of his daughter) to share his story of battling benzo…

The Deadly Dose is now on Patreon! Through the Deadly Dose Podcast Patreon (aka the DDPP... or should it be D2P2?) we'll be dropping exclusive content from bonus episodes to reaction videos to merchandise. Click the direct link below to see subscription options and what each membership-tier has to offer. OR sit back, relax, hit play, and we'll tell…

We've brought you an encore presentation of "The Devil's Nightcap" with added commentary and an update on a recent discovery in the ongoing investigation into Shastri's death. In 1966, the second Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri, died under mysterious circumstances in Tashkent, Uzbekistan a day after signing the Tashkent Agreement (a pe…

We're bringing you an encore presentation of the story that inspired this podcast (plus bonus commentary!). Harini talks about the Chicago Tylenol Murders (or Tylenol Murders) of 1982 and how this terrorizing event completely changed the pharmaceutical industry's drug-packaging practices. It also influenced stricter Federal anti-tampering legislati…

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, and global outcry against the Russian Federation's invasion loses it's intensity, we wanted to bring back our coverage of the assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, Alexei Navalny. In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent called Novichok. During his recovery, he …

We're back with another Deadly Dose re-release! In this episode, Megan talks about the most incredible poisoning/assassination event to have occurred in the 21st century: the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un. What starts as an investigation into two women accused as assassins, develops into an…

It’s a Deadly Dose re-release, Part II! We’re bringing back Harini’s coverage of MK-Ultra and all the questionable, unsanctioned sh*t that occurred under this infamous CIA mind-control program. One conspiracy of significance that came of MK-Ultra was the untimely and mysterious death of American bacteriologist, Frank Olson. Pour yourself some Coint…

It’s a Deadly Dose re-release! We’re bringing back Harini’s coverage of MK Ultra and all the questionable, unsanctioned sh*t that occurred under this infamous CIA mind-control program. LSD and other drug experiments (read: torture?) ran rampant from the 1950s to 1970s in a bid to beat the Communists. Hold onto your bell bottoms and rose-colored gla…

It's a Deadly Dose re-release! With the recent Italian grinder sandwich trending across the internet, we wanted to bring back this incredible story of a serial sandwich poisoner in Germany. We've added bonus commentary reflecting on how far we've come in the last two years. We hope you enjoy! Just like how you'd enjoy a delicious sandwich. If you l…

We're back with another re-record! In this episode, Harini illuminates (see what we did there?) the once deadly fad of Radium-226. This enchanting, glowing isotope became a worldwide obsession and was literally the most fashionable commodity in the 1920s. It was used in food, makeup, clothes, decor, medicine, you name it! Even having a paid occupat…

In this episode, Megan pays homage to her home city of Sacramento, CA by detailing the life and crimes of the serial poisoner, Dorothea Puente. Puente came to notoriety in the late 1980s when a welfare check-up on a missing tenant led to the discovery of seven bodies in her yard, thus christening her home as the infamous Murder House in Sacramento.…

REWIND: in honor of our new chapter as The Deadly Dose, we are re-recording some of our old, but gold episodes starting with our original Ep. 2. Harini takes you back in time with her and to Jonestown, Guyana to share the infamous tale of Reverend Jim Jones and The People's Temple cult. You can listen, but whatever you do, just don't drink the Kool…

Spoilers for the Sinner Season 2 ahead! In this episode, Megan debunks the portrayal of jimson weed in The Sinner Season 2. Though a small feature in the season, it leaves a lasting impression, violently incapacitating and killing two grown adults within minutes in the first episode. While the reality of this nightshade’s toxicity is a lot less fri…

In the late summer of 1976, a mysterious disease swept through the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of members of the American Legion, which was holding its annual convention within the Bellevue-Stratford, and several unaffiliated civilians fell ill. The disease took 29 lives. The outbreak was an epidemiological myst…

Melatonin has become an increasingly popular supplement used by both adults and children. For some children, the ingestion of melatonin is completely accidental. And according to a recent report published by the CDC, accidental pediatric ingestions of melatonin have increased by over 500% in the last decade. In this episode, Megan provides an overv…

Amid the latest technology and scientific innovations in the modern world that allow us to swiftly catch and convict criminals - there is one seemingly archaic methodology that clearly still remains supreme. With only about a dozen specialists in the United States, forensic entomology is still a relatively new field of forensic science, but it is d…

POV: the sun is radiating down on you, warming your skin while you trek through a large expanse of meadow. To your right is the majestic monolith of El Capitan and overhead you hear the birds singing their morning songs to one another. At the end of the evening, you come home to the luxury of your glamping site and snuggle into bed with the warmth …

You're getting double the dose of Harini this week. This story is the infamous Afrin Affair of 1991. An esteemed scientist, Dr. Barry Van Winkle, is on the verge of skyrocketing his career when he gets mysteriously targeted, but by who and why? The stakes are so high in the science world, and The University of Houston is no exception. This story is…

With summer on the horizon, all of us are coming out of the woodwork to bask in the sun, including rattlesnakes. In this episode, Harini retells an episode of "I Survived" where a man in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains is picking blueberries under a warm spring sun when he encounters an unwanted surprise... Keep your wits about you when listen…