Going Viral

The term “bird flu” is a misnomer, scientists say, because almost all human influenza originates in our feathered friends. How it lands in you and spreads is another matter … Hear what it takes for a virus to go global, from a virus hunter who plans to stop epidemics in their tiny DNA tracks with an innovative global surveillance system. Also, why your genome is littered with fossil viruses of the past … the two largest viruses discovered so far, Mimi and Mega, square off … and, what it takes for ideas to “go viral.” Guests: Nathan Wolfe - Viral Ecologist, Director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative Robert Gifford - Evolutionary virologist, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University Vincent Racaniello - Virologist at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, host of the podcast, “This Week in Microbiology,” and author of the “Virology Blog” Bill Wasik - Senior Editor at Wired, author of And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

The surprising connections in science and technology that give you the Big Picture. Astronomer Seth Shostak and science journalist Molly Bentley are joined each week by leading researchers, techies, and journalists to provide a smart and humorous take on science. Our regular "Skeptic Check" episodes cast a critical eye on pseudoscience.