Patient Zero

NHPR

How are medical mysteries solved? And what happens when questions remain? Patient Zero is an investigation of the spaces where people and pathogens collide. We take a deep dive in to the history – and mystery – of one of the fastest spreading epidemics of our time: Lyme disease. Learn more at www.patientzeropodcast.com.

  • 33 minutes 57 seconds
    Safe to Drink, Episode 1: You don’t know about this?

    A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the water is safe to drink — doesn’t have a clear answer. Nobody seems to know much about this so-called forever chemical, which is weird… because all of this has all happened before.

    From the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, Safe to Drink is a four-part series about a water contamination story that keeps repeating in town after town — and about the people who fought for answers through a maze of chemistry, regulations, and illnesses.

    You can binge the whole series now: subscribe to Safe to Drink on Apple Podcasts, or check out their page on NHPR’s website. 

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    29 January 2026, 2:20 pm
  • 47 minutes 11 seconds
    Lyme AMA (Ask Me Anything)

    Is it Lyme disease, or Lyme's disease? Can humans take the canine Lyme vaccine? Does everybody infected with Lyme also get co-infections? These are some of the listener questions we attempt to answer in this Bonus episode. It's the Lyme AMA!

    Patient Zero is sponsored by Ben’s. Click here to learn more or go to https://bens30.com/patientzero

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    21 May 2020, 8:15 pm
  • 18 minutes 54 seconds
    Patient Otzi

    The earliest known case of Lyme disease? Or the problem with correcting the
    record?

    Patient Zero is sponsored by Ben’s. Click here to learn more or go to https://bens30.com/patientzero

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    14 May 2020, 2:45 pm
  • 19 minutes 47 seconds
    Horses & Zebras

    The origin of ulcers. The rise and fall of a medical recommendation.
    Certainty and science.

    Patient Zero is sponsored by Ben’s. Click here to learn more or go to https://bens30.com/patientzero

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    7 May 2020, 12:40 pm
  • 55 minutes 13 seconds
    The Reservoir

    Society inadvertently engineers an epidemic. Scientists debate whether or not to engineer a solution.

     

     Learn more at patientzeropodcast.com

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    3 October 2019, 10:00 am
  • 51 minutes 9 seconds
    The Non-A Non-B

    An ambiguous case with no easy answers. Another growing epidemic, and an ethics question that might help explain Lymeworld.

    To get access to bonus episodes as well as early access to our regular episodes, clickhere. 

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    26 September 2019, 10:00 am
  • 16 minutes 49 seconds
    LYMErix

    In the late 90s you could get vaccinated against Lyme. Now you can't. What gives?

     

     

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    19 September 2019, 10:00 am
  • 48 minutes 22 seconds
    The Laser

    When it feels like doctors have closed the door to establishment medicine, another set of doors open. These doors lead to dubious providers, and untested treatments.

    To get access to bonus episodes, as well as early access to our regular episodes, click here.

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    12 September 2019, 10:00 am
  • 42 minutes 49 seconds
    The Bell Curve

    Lyme disease has been called the Great Imitator. And the Lyme disease tests have a fraught history.

    Click hereto donate $20 and get early, ad-free episodes of Patient Zero and bonus content. 

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    5 September 2019, 10:00 am
  • 28 minutes 58 seconds
    The Vector

    A perfect carrier of disease. A race underneath your skin. The part we know, before we get to the parts we don't.

    Click hereto donate $20 and get ad-free episodes of Patient Zero a week early and bonus content. 

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    29 August 2019, 10:00 am
  • 54 minutes 45 seconds
    The Cluster

    A meditation on the pace of science.  An investigation in fits and starts. The beginning of a controversy.

    Click hereto donate $20 and get ad-free episodes of Patient Zero a week early and bonus content.

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    22 August 2019, 10:00 am
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