Infectious Dose
Episodes
S2E17 Remedies and Regrets: The Worst Infection Treatments in History
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine getting sick in the 1700s—before microbes were discovered, before antibiotics, and before infection had a clear cause. In this Outbreak Afte...
S2E16 The Call Came From Inside: Epstein–Barr virus and the biology of persistence
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a virus you probably already have. Epstein–Barr virus infects nearly 95% of adults worldwide. For many, it shows up once—fatigue, a sore...
S2E15 Scratching the Surface: How We Miss Murine Typhus
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Murine typhus is a flea-borne bacterial infection that continues to circulate in parts of the United States, particularly in urban and suburban enviro...
S2E14 In the Quiet Hours: A Year of Science and Storytelling
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
One year in, Heather steps back to reflect on what this podcast has become—and what changed along the way. What started as a focus on clear, accurat...
S2E13 Inside the Suit: An immersive walk through a BSL-4 lab
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
You’re about to step inside a BSL-4 lab. Not a tour. Not an explanation. An experience. You’ll move through clearance. Suit up. Connect to air. An...
S2E12 The Bell, the Beak, and the Mark: Plague Doctors and the Fear of Contagion
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The plague doctor: a symbol of fear, medicine, and mystery. But were they really the heroes we imagine—or something more complicated? In this Outbre...
S2E11 Guided Tour Systems Edition: The Infectious Dose Vaccine Safety Files
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the biggest misunderstandings about vaccine safety aren’t just about the science—but about how the system communicates it? In this updated...
S2E10 Upstream of Misinformation: Mark Ungrin on Scientific Errors, Institutional Policy, and Public Trust
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk about misinformation in public health, we usually imagine social media, conspiracy theories, or individuals misunderstanding science. But...
S2E9 Under the Skin: The Evolving Story of Mpox
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Mpox isn’t just a headline from 2022. In this episode, we explore what scientists have learned about mpox since the global outbreak — from how the...
S2E8 Love Bites: Microbes That Hijack Affection
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if attraction isn’t entirely yours? In this Outbreak After Dark episode, Heather, Kate, and Sam gather around the campfire to explore the paras...
S2E7 At the Edge of Spillover: The Nipah Paradox
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nipah virus scares virologists, and for good reason. It infects endothelial cells and neurons. It can cause fatal encephalitis. It spreads from bats t...
S2E6 The Syphilis Surge: Echoes of Betrayal in a Broken Health System
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Syphilis is back—and it never really left. In this episode, we break down how a curable, preventable infection is resurging to cause a public health...
On Silence, Science, and Complicity: A Statement From Infectious Dose
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This short, standalone episode is a statement of ethics. It explains why this podcast will not remain silent in the face of state violence, the disman...
S2E5 RSV: Symptoms, Spread, and Prevention
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
RSV is one of the most common respiratory viruses — and a leading cause of hospitalization in young children worldwide. In this solo episode, I expl...
S2E4 Eight Legs, Endless Fear: Spiders and the Skin Crawling Truth
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Spiders inspire some of our deepest fears—but are they actually as dangerous as we think? In this Outbreak After Dark episode, Heather, Sam, and Ka...
S2E3 From Spillover to Weapons: A Conversation with Conor Browne on Biological Threats
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What are biological weapons—and what are they not? In this episode, Heather is joined by bio-risk consultant and biodefense researcher Conor Browne ...
S2E2 The Right Stuff for Texas: An Interview with Terry Virts on Science-Based Leadership
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Infectious Dose, Heather McSharry talks with Terry Virts—retired NASA astronaut, Air Force colonel, and candidate for Congress in...
S2 E1 — Seasonal, Not Safe: Influenza 2025–2026
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week in “Seasonal, Not Safe,” we confront the truth about influenza in 2025–2026. It’s not “just the flu.” From the tragic stories of...
Episode 43: Still Curious - A New Year's Reset (Without Resolutions)
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This New Year’s Eve episode isn’t about resolutions — it’s about a reset. In Still Curious: A New Year’s Reset (Without Resolutions), Heathe...
Episode 42 - Outbreak After Dark: A Consumption Christmas Carol
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This month’s Outbreak After Dark is a special holiday episode — and a heavier one. In A Consumption Christmas Carol , we reimagine Dickens’ clas...
Episode 41 - ACIP Undone: Proof, Policy, and Panic Over a Hepatitis B Vaccine
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes — ACIP Undone: Proof, Policy, and Panic Over a Hepatitis B Vaccine This episode unpacks everything you need to know about hepatitis B and...
Episode 40: Vaccine Safety 9 - The FDA Memo That Betrayed Public Trust: What You Need to Know
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A leaked FDA memo sparked headlines claiming the COVID vaccine killed children — but the memo included no evidence, no data, and no scientific analy...
Episode 39: Cold Comfort - What Winter Rituals Got Right About Microbes
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s more to your favorite winter rituals than nostalgia. In this episode, we dive into how centuries of winter traditions—across Europe, Asia,...
Episode 38: OAD 2 - Pilgrims and Plagues
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Outbreak After Dark episode, we revisit Thanksgiving’s origin story through the lens of infectious disease. Heather, Sam, and Kate dive into...
Episode 37: A Prescription for Pestilence - The Global Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode dives into the roots of the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. How did routine cuts, UTIs, and pneumonias become untreatabl...
Episode 36: Rift Valley Fever - When Rains Bring Life and Loss
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rift Valley fever is back — and it’s hitting harder than it has in years. In this episode, we trace the 2025 outbreak from Mauritania to Senegal, ...
Episode 35: Travel Bugs & Holiday Hugs - Staying Healthy on the Road
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Headed into holiday travel season? This episode of Infectious Dose is your go-to guide for staying healthy on the road — without panic, shame, or di...
Episode 34: Outbreak After Dark 1 - Ocularium
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Outbreak After Dark, a new monthly ritual within Infectious Dose, where the science stays real but the stories get darker, weirder, and yes...
Episode 33: The Sleep Lecture - A Case of Encephalitis Lethargica
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if you couldn’t wake up—and your mind kept trying to lecture its way out of the dark? In this week’s Month of the Macabre episode, “The S...
Episode 32: The R@VN - A Requiem for Antivaxxers
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this special Month of the Macabre episode, Infectious Dose steps into gothic territory with a haunting reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Rav...
Episode 31: Salem 1692 - The Grain, the Gallows, and the Whispering Tapes
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1692, the people of Salem believed the Devil walked among them. But centuries later, scientists and historians would wonder: could the culprit have...
Episode 30: Pneumonia Noir - A Mystery Written in Fog and Fever
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Step into the shoes of a 1970s CDC outbreak detective as a mysterious cluster of fatal pneumonia cases pulls you into the shadows of a crumbling city ...
Episode 29: Surveillance, Research Rules, and Preparedness - A Conversation with Jim Alwine, PhD
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our public health safety net is unraveling. In this episode, we explore why infectious disease surveillance — once our invisible safety net — is q...
Episode 28: From Evidence to Power - Organizing for Public Health with Jon Shaffer, PhD
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Organizer–sociologist Jon Shaffer, PhD, (Defend Public Health / University of Vermont) joins Heather to talk about turning evidence into local, winn...
Episode 27: Neuro Invasion - The Silent Siege of West Nile Virus
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
West Nile virus is back in the headlines, with new human cases in the U.S. and steady activity in Europe. In this episode of Infectious Dose, Heather ...
Episode 26: Not Smarter, Just trained - How I Sort Fact from Fiction
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Heather pulls back the curtain on how she figures out what’s true. From gut checks and trusted sources to the brutal training of grad sch...
Episode 25 1/2: Booster Dose - New COVID Vaccine Access Explained
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather brings you a bonus mini Booster Dose episode to explain everything you need to know about the new changes in FDA-approved access to fall COVID...
Episode 25: Classroom Contagions - A Back-to-School Survival Guide
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back-to-school season means new teachers, new friends…and a whole new round of germs. From runny noses to strep throats, pinkeye to flu, classrooms ...
Episode 24: No Boat Big Enough - The Rise of Vibrio Vulnificus
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this gripping episode, we dive into the world of Vibrio vulnificus—a flesh-eating bacterium once confined to warm southern waters, now making dea...
Episode 23: Blood and Bone - The Battle Against Chikungunya
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chikungunya is sweeping through southern China in its largest recorded outbreak—and it’s not just a local problem. In this episode of Infectious D...
Episode 22: Booster Dose - A Guided Tour Through the Infectious Dose Vaccine Safety Files
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do vaccines really contain? Why do people still believe they cause autism? And who keeps spreading these lies? In honor of Immunization Awareness...
Episode 21: Dying of Thirst - Cholera in the Age of Abundance
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Heather unpacks one of 2025’s most urgent and underreported global health crises. Cholera—an ancient disease we know how to preve...
Episode 20: Biting Mad - When Rabies Becomes the Reel Villain
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rabies is one of the deadliest viruses known to science—but its cultural legacy may be even more enduring. Rabies has stalked the screen for decades...
Episode 19: Rebooting the Mission - The Podcast is Back. Here's the Messy, Honest, Human Story Behind It
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a little different. After relaunching and dropping 18 episodes since April, Heather finally shares the personal story behind why she l...
Episode 18: A Plague Returned - Polio and the Paralysis of Progress
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As global focus drifts and vaccine narratives fade, polio—a disease once on the brink of eradication—is finding new paths to persist. In this epi...
Episode 17: Grill, Thrill, & Kill - A 4th of July Comedy Special (Stand-Up for Science)
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This Fourth of July, we’re serving flaming absurdity alongside a tribute to scientists under attack. In this science-meets-comedy special, Heather t...
Episode 16: COVID Critical - Complacency and Consequences in an Unfinished Pandemic
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More than five years since the start of COVID-19, the virus is still here — evolving, spreading, and leaving lasting impacts. In this episode of Inf...
Episode 15: Protection, Interrupted - How Chasing Sterilizing Immunity Fails the Herd
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if our biggest mistake in vaccine communication wasn’t misinformation—but misexpectation? In this episode of Infectious Dose, Heather digs in...
Episode 14: No Name, No Mercy - The Hantavirus That Killed Betsy Arakawa
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Heather delves into the story of Sin Nombre virus and the disease it causes, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. From its rodent origins a...
Episode 13: Un-Vaccinated - the Global Measles Emergency
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather gives updates on 2025 measles outbreaks in every region of the world and discusses global efforts to curb them. She also debunks the deadly li...
Episode 12: Vaccine Safety 8 - Expecting Protection: Building vaccine confidence for moms-to-be
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pregnant and wondering which vaccines are safe? Heather separates myths from facts & shares exactly what science says about vaccine safety during ...
Episode 11: Close Quarters, Silent Threat - Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Dorms and Barracks
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Invasive meningococcal disease strikes fast—and often without warning—especially in close-contact environments like college dorms and military bar...
Episode 10: Vaccine Safety 7 - Inside the Vial: the Truth About What’s Actually in Vaccines
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the 5th episode in her vaccine safety series, Heather gives straightforward, science-based answers to some of the most common questions about what’...
Episode 9: Sleeper Cells - How Anthrax Hides, Strikes, and Could One Day Heal
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anthrax is one of the oldest infectious diseases known to science. Its ability to survive harsh environments and reemerge as a deadly pathogen centuri...
Episode 8: Vaccine Safety 6 - The Vaccine Court and Adjudication of Autism Cases
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather digs in to the truth about the vaccine court and how its history of claims supports that vaccines are safe! Explicit rating for mild, limited ...
Episode 7: Fowl on the Play as Bird Flu Heats Up
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is bird flu’s resurgence a warning sign worth heeding? Heather digs into the science, the stakes, and what this latest avian alarm could mean for gl...
Episode 6: Vaccine Safety 5 - Too Many Too Soon?
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather goes in-depth on why the current vaccine schedule is safe and effective for children and newborns. Infectiousdose.com Marked explicit for poss...
Episode 5: The Monster That is Measles
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather delivers the scoop on the disease caused by measles, including symptoms, transmission, prevention, treatment, what's in the very safe vaccines...
Episode 4: Vaccine Safety 4 - The Continuing Crimes of Andrew Wakefield
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the second vaccine safety episode, Heather describes how Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent science cost the world the elimination of measles and hurt c...
Episode 3: Vaccine Safety 3- Vaccines do NOT Cause Autism
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of several episodes on vaccine safety, Heather explains how we know vaccines are safe and do not cause autism. She provides all her sourc...
Episode 2: Vaccine Safety 2: Other COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is the original Pathogen Perspectives episode rebranded for Infectious Dose, originally published in 2020. Heather provides an in-depth discussi...
Episode 1: Vaccine Safety 1: mRNA COVID Vaccines Explained
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is the original Pathogen Perspectives Episode published in 2020, rebranded for Infectious Dose. Heather provides an in-depth discussion on the CO...