Superbugs: Apocalypse … Now?

Imagine getting an infection, going to the doctor, and having no little pill to make you better. Welcome to a world of SUPERBUGS. For years we've been hearing that our antibiotics aren't working as well as they used to. But recently, it feels like things have really gotten out of hand — we’re told that these super scary antibiotic-resistant bugs are EVERYWHERE. In today’s episode, Wendy visits a freezer filled with superbugs to find out how worried we need to be, and what scientists are doing about this. We talk to ​​Dr. Fernando Gordillo Altamirano, Professor Edward Feil, and Dr. Tina Joshi.

Find our transcript here: http://bit.ly/3o914qb

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00)What's up with superbugs?

(04:59)Are superbugs everywhere?

(08:32)How is antibiotic resistance spreading?

(14:33)Why aren't we all dead?

(20:52)Meet phages: superbug-killing viruses

(30:33)What else needs to happen to fight superbugs?

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, R.E. Natowicz, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Gimlet’s managing director is Nicole Beemsterboer. Fact checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Professor Evgeni V. Sokurenko, Professor Anton Peleg, Professor Jon Iredell, Dr Alejandro Chavez, Dr Branwen Morgan, Professor Asad Khan, Professor Ramanan Laxminarayan, Dr Vanina Guernier-Cambert, Dr Calum Walsh, Dr Claire Gorrie, Dr Marc Stegger. Special thanks to Dr Karl, Pierce Singgih, Flora Lichtman, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Original Podcast and a Gimlet production. Follow Science Vs on Spotify, and if you want to get notifications every time we put out a new episode, tap the bell icon in your app.

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