Best Robert Kline Podcasts (2025)

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Special Episode: Dr. Wendy Kline & Exposed 56:56

2d ago56:56

56:56

For many of us, pelvic exams are a routine part of our healthcare. Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t await them with some dread or anxiety; naturally, these exams evoke a wide range of emotions. But they are a cornerstone in gynecological preventative care - a relatively new one at that. In this TPWKY book club episode, we sit down with Dr. Wen…

1
Ep 177 Toxic Shock Syndrome: A shock to the system 1:25:20

9d ago1:25:20

1:25:20

If you’ve ever read the little instructions pamphlet included in a box of tampons, you probably came across a paragraph calling attention to a condition called toxic shock syndrome (TSS). It describes the association between TSS and tampon use, symptoms of TSS, and guidance on how to reduce risk. This legally mandated warning label has formed an in…

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Ep 176 Strychnine: The WD-40 of Victorian Medicine 1:19:33

16d ago1:19:33

1:19:33

This week, we’re coming at you with a classic TPWKY episode on one of the most notorious poisons out there: strychnine. Although strychnine might not flash across too many headlines these days, it was once imported by the ton in certain regions of the world. What did people want with so much strychnine? Depends on who you ask. Maybe it was for a re…

1
Special Episode: Dr. Adam Ratner & Booster Shots 52:32

23d ago52:32

52:32

For the past few months, measles has been in regular rotation in the news cycle here in the US, with outbreaks occurring across the country in regions with low vaccine uptake. These outbreaks represent a worrying trend in the rejection of scientific and medical expertise, with long-term consequences not only for those individuals refusing vaccines …

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Ep 175 What’s the deal with raw milk: Part 2 1:00:27

30d ago1:00:27

1:00:27

Last week, we started this two-parter with a big picture view of pasteurization and the raw milk movement. In this episode, we address the alleged health claims made by proponents of raw milk and dive into the very real risks carried by its consumption. Is raw milk actually better for you? Does it have more vitamins or prevent allergies? What deadl…

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Ep 174 What’s the deal with raw milk: Part 1 1:09:33

1M ago1:09:33

1:09:33

Seriously, what’s the deal? Lately, it seems like raw milk has started to pop up more and more frequently in our feeds, with influencers touting the alleged health benefits of raw milk over pasteurized milk. In this and next week’s episode, we explore the raw milk phenomenon as it has grown over the past few decades. We start this two-parter with a…

1
Special Episode: John Green & Everything Is Tuberculosis 56:46

1M ago56:46

56:46

Tuberculosis, or consumption as it was once known, might conjure up images of huge sanitoriums or writers and artists from the late 1800s (Moulin Rouge, anyone?). But this deadly disease is far from an illness of the past. In many parts of the world, tuberculosis remains an insidious killer, despite the fact that we’ve had effective drugs to treat …

1
Ep 173 Childhood Vaccine Schedule 2: Who’s making the call? 57:12

2M ago57:12

57:12

After last week’s episode, we all know about each of the diseases that we’re protected against thanks to our childhood vaccine schedule here in the US. And after this week’s episode, we’ll understand more about the schedule itself - why it might look different from other schedules around the world, how it gets made, and who makes the recommendation…

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Ep 172 Childhood Vaccine Schedule 1: Let’s give it a shot 1:07:43

2M ago1:07:43

1:07:43

We’re already back with our first episode of season 8! This week and next, we’re exploring childhood vaccine schedules - what diseases they protect us from, how the schedule is arranged, and who decides on the vaccines to include and the timing of vaccinations. In this first episode, we start with a refresher on how vaccines work before running thr…

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Ep 171 Pregnancy: Act 4 1:57:33

2M ago1:57:33

1:57:33

Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. We close out our pregnancy series with a big picture view of how the childbirth experience has changed over the pas…

1
Ep 170 Pregnancy: Act 3 1:55:06

2M ago1:55:06

1:55:06

Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. In Act 3 of our pregnancy series, we arrive at the big moment: childbirth. We begin the episode with a closer look …

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Ep 169 Pregnancy: Act 2 1:46:07

3M ago1:46:07

1:46:07

Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. The second episode in our pregnancy series kicks off with a tribute to one of the most amazing organs: the placenta…

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Ep 168 Pregnancy: Act 1 1:38:15

3M ago1:38:15

1:38:15

Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, pregnancy complications, traumatic birth experiences, and other potentially disturbing topics related to childbirth, pregnancy, and the postpartum period. With this and the next three episodes, we’re delivering a four-part series on pregnancy, trimester by trimester. We…

1
Special Episode: Rachel Gross & Vagina Obscura 48:48

3M ago48:48

48:48

For much of history, female reproductive anatomy has been studied only in the context of or in comparison to male reproductive anatomy. This shows in clinical trial design, in healthcare disparities, in the research questions we ask (or fail to ask), it’s even apparent in our language - the word “vagina” means “sheath”, as if vaginas only exist to …

1
Ep 167 Viagra/Sildenafil: Raising the bar 1:13:51

3M ago1:13:51

1:13:51

Has a name brand prescription medication ever shot to notoriety as quickly as Viagra did? Within a few months of its arrival on the market, it seems like everyone knew about the little blue pill, whether through commercials featuring celebrity spokespeople or from endless jokes on late night talk shows. But while everyone understood that this medic…

1
Ep 166 Amanita poisoning: Death Cap-tivating 1:10:27

4M ago1:10:27

1:10:27

In forests, in lawns, in city parks across the world lurks a small, pale, unassuming mushroom whose inconspicuous appearance belies its deadly nature. For within this mushroom dwelsl one of the deadliest poisons known to humans: amatoxin. It’s because of this toxin that the aptly-named ‘death cap mushroom’ (Amanita phalloides) is responsible for th…

1
Ep 165 Fish Tongue Parasite: Parasite Appreciation Hour 1:02:31

4M ago1:02:31

1:02:31

Okay everyone, think about your tongue. Maybe move it around a bit, check in with it, consider what it means to you. Now imagine that your tongue suddenly shriveled up and fell off and that in its place is a tongue-sized isopod aka rollie pollie aka pillbug. Just there, hanging out, forever. How are you feeling? Horrified? Disgusted? Hey, we get it…

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Ep 164 Rift Valley Fever: Ruminating on ruminants 1:15:27

4M ago1:15:27

1:15:27

Hemorrhagic virus? Check. Deadly disease? Check. Mosquito-borne? Check. Affected by animal movement, human activity, and environmental change? Check. Rift Valley Fever has all the markings of a classic TPWKY episode. This week, we’re doing a deep dive on this deadly virus, taking a One Health approach to explore the intricate relationships between …

1
Ep 163 Circadian Rhythm: Live from Perth, Australia 1:12:21

4M ago1:12:21

1:12:21

We are coming at you with our very first live episode from Perth, Australia! Here at the 2024 Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists Annual Scientific Conference and Exhibition, occupational hazards and exposures get top billing. And one of the most ubiquitous hazards, experienced by nearly every industry is fatigue, specifically fatigue c…

1
Special Episode: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, Lee Mordechai & Diseased Cinema 46:15

4M ago46:15

46:15

Everyone’s got a favorite disease movie. What’s yours? Does it feature zombies like 28 Days Later (2002), or is it more grounded in reality, like Contagion (2011)? Does it end with a glimmer of hope or with a dose of despair? Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys? From the early days of disease movies like Panic in the Streets (1950) to mo…

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Ep 162 Allergies Part 2: Shots, pills, & pens 1:32:44

5M ago1:32:44

1:32:44

Yes, the world may be out to get us with allergens around every corner, but we’ve got some tricks up our sleeve to help us cope. Our allergy treatment toolkit includes an impressive suite of tools, and in the second episode of our two-part series on allergies, we focus on three in particular: antihistamine medications, allergy shots, and the epinep…

1
Ep 161 Allergies Part 1: Pollens, nuts, & bugs 1:24:13

5M ago1:24:13

1:24:13

Sometimes it seems like the world is out to get us: bees in our garden, pollen in the air, nuts in our brownies, any number of other things that could trigger an allergic reaction ranging from itchy eyes and a runny nose all the way to anaphylaxis. Why must our bodies react in such over-the-top ways to these seemingly innocuous substances? In the f…

1
Special Episode: Philip Eil & Prescription for Pain 1:00:02

6M ago1:00:02

1:00:02

In February 2012, Paul Volkman was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life imprisonment for his role in illegally prescribing and dispensing pain medications that resulted in the deaths of several individuals in his care. This was a remarkable case, both in terms of the lengthy sentence as well as the perpetrator. Paul Volkman was a highly-educ…

1
Ep 160 Appendicitis: Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone? 1:13:07

6M ago1:13:07

1:13:07

For decades, it seemed like the appendix would go the way of 8-track players, pagers, and the phonograph. Outdated, obsolete, not worth keeping around. Surgeons performed appendectomies like it was spring cleaning - when in doubt, cut it out. But then the tides began to turn as medicine started to question the long-held belief that the appendix is …

1
Ep 159 Scabies: Tiny but Mite-y 1:07:22

6M ago1:07:22

1:07:22

Among the many conditions that creep under your skin and make scratching irresistible, scabies alone holds the honor of being called simply “The Itch” for centuries. In this episode, we examine how the burrowing scabies mites cause this extremely uncomfortable sensation, what we can do to halt their progress, and how contagious they really are (les…

1
Ep 158 Scarlet Fever: You’ve changed 1:10:49

6M ago1:10:49

1:10:49

A mere 150 years ago, uttering the words “scarlet fever” was enough to strike fear into the hearts of many, especially parents of young children. For a brief period of time, this disease, caused by an infection with the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, reigned as a leading cause of childhood death in many parts of the world. It left its mark on gr…

1
Special Episode: Dr. Emily Monosson & Blight 53:51

7M ago53:51

53:51

We really don’t give fungi the credit they deserve. Over the years of this podcast, we’ve covered only a handful of fungal pathogens, and pathogenic fungi themselves represent a teeny tiny proportion of the incredible diversity of fungal life on this planet. But with this book club episode, we’re attempting to correct this oversight, at least a lit…

1
Ep 157 Retinoids Part 2: …how it’s going 1:02:25

7M ago1:02:25

1:02:25

That same little bottle of retinol serum sitting on your bathroom counter - how does it work? Does it actually work? Those are the questions we’re taking on in part two of our retinoids two-parter. The answers, as you might expect, are complicated. Because as it turns out, “retinoid” is a catch-all term for a bunch of different types of compounds, …

1
Ep 156 Retinoids Part 1: How it started… 57:05

7M ago57:05

57:05

That little bottle of retinol serum sitting on your bathroom counter - what do you know about its history? This week, we’re digging deep into the man behind the medicine, renowned dermatologist Dr. Albert Kligman, and the unethical research he conducted at Holmesburg Prison in the mid-20th century. Kligman’s research program at Holmesburg spanned d…

1
Special Episode: Kate Zernike & The Exceptions 55:50

7M ago55:50

55:50

When the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted in 1999 that they had discriminated against women on its faculty, it sent shockwaves throughout institutions of higher learning across the country. In this TPWKY book club episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kate Zernike joins us to discuss her book The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, a…

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Ep 155 Stiff Person Syndrome: A rare disease in the spotlight 1:23:27

8M ago1:23:27

1:23:27

Stiff person syndrome, like many rare diseases, does not get nearly the same amount of screen time or name recognition that other, more common diseases do. For many people, Celine Dion’s announcement of her diagnosis with the condition in 2022 marked the first time they had heard of it. This limited awareness surrounding stiff person syndrome marks…

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Ep 154 Ask The Erins (Again!) 1:20:55

8M ago1:20:55

1:20:55

Five years ago, we asked you all to ask us anything, and you delivered. We answered dozens of listener questions, like how we first met, our favorite quarantinis, where we were in our career journeys, and so many more. But in the years since that first “ask us anything”, a lot has changed for both of us! So we’re coming back to you with the answers…

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Special Episode: Dr. Charan Ranganath & Why We Remember 57:27

8M ago57:27

57:27

How is it that we can’t remember where we put our keys or the name of the person we just met, but we can recall in excruciating detail the embarrassing interaction we had at the grocery store ten years ago? Sometimes it seems like our memory works against us more than it does for us. But, as it turns out, this aspect of our memory is more a feature…

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Ep 153 Alpha-Gal Syndrome: A tick bite gone bad 1:09:59

8M ago1:09:59

1:09:59

One day, you’re enjoying a beautiful hike through the tall grass. A few months later, you find yourself in anaphylaxis from a post-hike hamburger. The culprit: a tick bite. In this much-requested episode, we take on alpha-gal syndrome, the red meat allergy triggered by the bite of a tick. Sometimes science is stranger than fiction. How exactly does…

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Ep 152 Hemochromatosis: Ironing out the details 1:13:19

8M ago1:13:19

1:13:19

For life on this planet, iron is not optional. It is essential. When our iron levels are low, we can get sick, and when they get really really low, we can even die. But you know what they say, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. In the case of iron, the genetic condition hemochromatosis is often to blame for iron overload, but why is too m…

1
Special Episode: Dan Egan & The Devil’s Element 48:53

9M ago48:53

48:53

Phosphorus is an element that wears many faces. Its overuse as a fertilizer has polluted freshwater ecosystems, transforming rivers and lakes from thriving communities to lethal zones devoid of life. Its role as an explosive has brought fiery death and suffering to many during times of war. And its dwindling global supply poses an existential threa…

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Ep 151 Stethoscope: Lub dub 1:18:27

9M ago1:18:27

1:18:27

The stethoscope. It’s iconic. You’re playing Pictionary and you pull the “doctor” card? Easy - sketch a stethoscope. Need a last-minute Halloween costume? Easy - throw a stethoscope around your shoulders. Google image search “doctor” and you can count the number of stethoscope-less doctors on one hand. How did this instrument become so emblematic o…

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Ep 150 Norovirus: Tip of the poop iceberg 1:13:41

9M ago1:13:41

1:13:41

“Is it gonna be poop or is it gonna be barf?” It’s the question we all fear during a bout of food poisoning when time is of the essence and a decision has to be made before it’s made for us. Often, the germ forcing this question upon us is none other than the dreaded norovirus. First called “winter vomiting disease” for reasons obvious to anyone wh…

1
Special Episode: Maria Smilios & The Black Angels 59:33

9M ago59:33

59:33

In the pre-antibiotic era, tuberculosis was one of the biggest killers humanity ever faced. The specter of the ‘great white plague’ hung over towns and cities across the world, cities like New York whose population boom in the early 20th century paved the way for this deadly disease to spread throughout crowded tenements. As tuberculosis rates in N…

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Ep 149 Poison Control Part 2: Call me maybe 53:37

10M ago53:37

53:37

In last week’s episode/love song to poison control centers, we journeyed through the history of these centers, from idea to institution. This week, we pick up where we left off by taking stock of the incredible impact that poison control centers have had on public health and individual lives. We also get a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at the op…

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Ep 148 Poison Control Part 1: Who you gonna call? 50:05

10M ago50:05

50:05

If you’ve ever called poison control, you probably already have a deep appreciation for the voice on the other end of the line who provides solid answers, emanates calm, and empowers you to take whatever steps necessary to be safe and healthy. If you haven’t, this episode will turn you into a superfan anyway. How did this incredibly valuable yet of…

1
Special Episode: Ben Goldfarb & Crossings 54:58

10M ago54:58

54:58

Roads are essential to our modern lives, so much so that they largely exist in the background of our minds. When we do think of roads, we’re either complaining about traffic or celebrating them for enabling our restless need to explore. Can you imagine if all of the world’s 40 million miles of roads were suddenly erased? Chaos for humanity. But a b…

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Ep 147 Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease: Sympathy for the Devil 1:21:09

10M ago1:21:09

1:21:09

Think of an infectious disease. What comes to mind? A viral infection like influenza? Or a bacterial illness like cholera? Maybe some of you thought of a fungal pathogen or a parasite. But how many of you thought of a cancer? In this episode, we explore the bizarre, stranger than fiction story of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a transmissible c…

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Ep 146 Celiac Disease: Rootin tootin gluten 1:28:04

11M ago1:28:04

1:28:04

CW: discussion of disordered eating, eating disorders Did the word gluten manifest in everyone’s consciousness one day in 2010? Suddenly, grocery stores were filled with gluten-free crackers, cookies, buns, you name it. Everyone went on gluten-free diets or knew someone with a gluten intolerance or sensitivity. For some, it might seem that gluten-r…

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Special Episode: Dr. Rageshri Dhairyawan & Unheard 53:55

11M ago53:55

53:55

Going to the doctor is probably not at the top of anyone’s list of enjoyable activities, but when we do go, we expect and deserve to be heard, to have our concerns listened to and our questions answered. However, most, if not all, of us have at some point felt unheard, dismissed, or even gaslit by our healthcare provider. What is it about the docto…

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Ep 145 IVF, Part 3: Industry 1:21:38

11M ago1:21:38

1:21:38

CW: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss, body-shaming The third and final installment of our series on IVF surveys the current and potential future landscape of this powerful technology. We first trace the growth of the IVF industry in the US since its inception in the early 1980s up to today before then giving an overview of some of the regula…

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Ep 144 IVF, Part 2: Invention 1:20:30

11M ago1:20:30

1:20:30

CW: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss, suicide In the second part of our three-part series on IVF, we’re picking up where we left off last week. From the historical side of things, that means investigating how the revolutionary technology of IVF was developed over the decades of the 20th century leading to the first “test tube babies” born in…

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Ep 143 IVF, Part 1: Infertility 1:26:24

11M ago1:26:24

1:26:24

Content Warning: mentions of infertility, pregnancy loss We’re coming at you with not one, not two, but THREE whole episodes on IVF (in vitro fertilization) and other forms of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) over the next several weeks. Our first episode in this series starts things off with a broad examination of infertility over space an…

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Special Episode: Dr. Noah Whiteman & Most Delicious Poison 1:01:32

12M ago1:01:32

1:01:32

The word “poison” is much more subjective than it may first appear. It’s likely you’ve come across the phrase, “the dose makes the poison”, referring to some compounds that are beneficial in small amounts but deadly in others - such as digitalis. And then there’s the intended recipient of the “poison”; a poison to one animal might be a boon to anot…

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Ep 142 Leeches: It’s more powerful than magic, it’s nature 50:13

12M ago50:13

50:13

Did our episode on maggots leave you wanting more squirmy wormy yet oh so cool content? You’re in luck. Because this week, we’re following up our maggots episode with a companion piece on leeches. Leeches have been used by healers and physicians for millennia, and they’ve come back into style for treatments today, for very good reason. If you’ve ev…

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Robert Kline Podcasts

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