Morpheus

From Radiolab

Antibiotic Apocalypse

Published
March 27, 2026
Length
1:01:07

Audio is streamed from the publisher.

Show notes

Doctor and special correspondent Avir Mitra takes Executive Editor Soren Wheeler, plus a live studio audience, on a journey from the operating room to inside the body to the farm to the sewers and back again—searching for answers to an alarming threat to humanity’s existence as we know it: antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This live show, performed in New York City and also in Little Rock, Arkansas, is part of a series we’re doing with Avir that we are calling “Viscera.” Each event is a conversation that takes the audience on a journey into a quirk or question or mystery inside of us, and gives them a visceral experience of the viscera within us. The previous installment of the series was called “[https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-elixir-of-life"]( The Elixir of Life.” ([https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-elixir-of-life"]( [https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-elixir-of-life](https://radiolab.org/podcast/the-elixir-of-life %29 Special)) _Special thanks to all of Little Rock Public Radio (especially Grace Zafasi and Jonathan Seaborn), Thomas Patterson, The Greene Space staff, CALS Ron Robinson Theater, Tom Philpott, Stephen Roach, Kate Shaw, Alex Wong, Maryn McKenna, and Kerri McClimen._ _**If you are a patients or a doctor, and you are interested in phage therapy, please contact IPATH@ucsd.edu**_ **EPISODE CREDITS:** Reported by - Avir Mitra Produced by - Jessica Yung Sound design contributed by - Jeremy Bloom and Jessica Yung Fact-checking by -Natalie Middleton **EPISODE CITATIONS:** **Videos -** - Check out the video from the Viscera live show (and a bonus Q&A with Bruce Stewart-Brown and Steffanie Strathdee) on _Radiolab_’s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HkSfPVdglo"]( YouTube ([https://zpr.io/3BK9MqJYVKQA"]( [https://zpr.io/3BK9MqJYVKQA](https://zpr.io/3BK9MqJYVKQA %29. )). - A [https://youtu.be/BwXVY9g4C78?si=plrJsJP4ivLhU\_Yj"]( deep dive ([https://zpr.io/WNQNfgiNvKeZ"]( [https://zpr.io/WNQNfgiNvKeZ](https://zpr.io/WNQNfgiNvKeZ %29)) on bacteriophages with Avir Mitra and Steffanie Strathdee, also on Radiolab’s Youtube.. **Books -** - [https://theperfectpredator.com/"]( _The Perfect Predator_([https://theperfectpredator.com/"]( [https://theperfectpredator.com/](https://theperfectpredator.com/ %29)) by Dr. Steffanie Strathdee’s telling of her battle against a killer superbug. [https://bookshop.org/p/books/plucked-chicken-antibiotics-and-how-big-business-changed-the-way-the-world-eats-maryn-mckenna/9f34d46b1a1b9c1e"]( _Plucked_ _(_[https://zpr.io/PudGMEuzgU9X"]( [https://zpr.io/PudGMEuzgU9X](https://zpr.io/PudGMEuzgU9X %29)_)_ by Maryn Mckenna a detailed accounting of chicken farming’s practice of using antibiotics. _Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show._ [https://radiolab.org/newsletter"]( _Sign up_ ([https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!](https://radiolab.org/newsletter%29! ) _Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of_ [http://members.radiolab.org"]( _The Lab_ _( today._ _Follow our show on_ [http://instagram.com/radiolab"]( _Instagram_ _,_ [http://twitter.com/radiolab"]( _Twitter_ _and_ [http://facebook.com/radiolab"]( _Facebook_ _@radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing_ [_radiolab@wnyc.org_](mailto:radiolab@wnyc.org)_._ _Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation._