Viral Load
The disease podcast for a diseased world! Hosts: Brett Bayles (a professor) & Andy Pupa (not a professor) gleefully explore the weird and wacky world of diseases on a changing planet.
Episodes
74 episodes
Disease X: Navigating the Conspiracy Theory Maze
Dive into the mystery of Disease X, the hypothetical pathogen poised to trigger the next global pandemic. Amidst a sea of conspiracy theories, from government cover-ups and the New World Order to clandestine experiments, we sift through the noi...
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Episode 74
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1:16:47
Origins of HIV/AIDS
Delve into the complex origins of HIV in our latest episode, unraveling the web of misinformation surrounding this global health crisis. Join us as we uncover the truth behind the virus, challenging misconceptions and shedding light on its hist...
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Episode 73
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1:21:40
Epidemic Enigma: Bird Flu Prophesies & 5 Strange Diseases
Dive into the ominous with some of the world's weirdest diseases. An is it finally the year of the Bird Flu? In this Viral Particle or Mini-sode. Uncover the eerie stories behind 5 peculiar diseases.. Join us on this unsettling journey through ...
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Episode 72
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39:56
Artificial Intelligence & Human Health: Rise of the Disease Machines
Is it a system that creates a world where Instagram models and regular folks become indistinguishable . A revolutionary solution to blank page syndrome ? An epic tale of an artificial boy's quest for humanity? Or perhaps we are just talki...
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Episode 71
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1:28:20
Time-Traveling Pathogens: Update from Siberia
This week the guys jump back to a topic that started it all in 2019 (episode 1). We're talking zombie viruses and melting permafrost. What are scientists finding beneath the thawing ground? Listen to this week's episode to find out!..
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Episode 70
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52:44
War in Ukraine: Cholera and Combat Mosquitoes
Is Putin puttin' something in the water supply? Is Zelensky secretly an an evil mastermind using monster mosquitos to squash the Russian Regime? Is the U.S. funding bio labs in the Ukraine to undercut the Russians? Is it all simply political po...
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Episode 69
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1:11:38
Viral Load Reviews The Last of Us
A fungal infection turning the entire human race into mushroom headed zombies...of course the guys from Viral Load are all in. On this episode Brett and Andy take a look at the fungal series that is causing an HBO Pandemic. Could Co...
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Episode 68
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46:29
Bird Flu Outbreak: Pandemic Predictions
While we may not have a Delorean or a magic crystal ball; Brett is a doctor of epidemiology, an astronomy aficionado and now perhaps able to see into the future (Brett-stradamus )? After 2 years of bird flu prognostication are we finally ...
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Episode 67
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1:03:06
TB Sniffing Rodents: HeroRATS
This week the guys take you on a trip down the rat hole. They discuss the incredibly accurate TB sniffing rats and how humans began domesticating animals for our benefit. So sit back relax and picture Linguini sniffing out TB instead of making ...
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Episode 66
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56:16
RSV and the Tripledemic
What's that? The holidays are just around the corner. Well Brett and Andy have got just the topic for discussion around the ol' dinner table. This week the guys dive into the deep end of the latest pandemic that is RSV. In doing so we mus...
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Episode 65
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1:02:36
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Frozen Zombie Viruses
Same old new years resolutions and brand new set of terrifying disease predictions. This episode is a viral particle or mini-sode where Brett and Andy each choose a story and the other one has no clue what to expect. Brett dives into the deep e...
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Episode 64
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50:22
Fecal Transplants Part 2 : Golden Soup
It's finally arrived the long awaited sequel to our foray into fecal fodder. Do you or someone you love have gastrointestinal distress? or did you simply eat bad street meat at 1 am that sent you down a Youtube rabbit hole that has you thinking...
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Episode 63
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1:24:58
Fecal Transplants Part 1 : The Microbiome
Wandering through the fecal fodder of 2022 has at times felt like a flummoxing failure. The good news is on this episode of Viral Load we show you the upside of your downtown business and how it could one day save your life.
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Episode 62
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1:12:23
Monkeypox Rave 2022
Planning to hit up your local rave? You may want to hold off on dropping the beat until you listen to this week's episode. We discuss the emergence of monkeypox in non endemic areas and why Marshmallow, Skrillex, and Deadmau5 may be responsible...
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Episode 61
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48:39
Rabies: Destroy the Brain
On this episode we cover why that possum is really chasing it's tail, if you should invite those pesky raccoons into your home for some tea, and ponder just what is the best name for a Swedish metal band. That's right the deadliest diseas...
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Episode 60
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1:17:14
Omicron Persei 8: A Variant of Concern
What happens when anti-vaxxers, a promiscuous virus, and maybe some infected rodents get together? A new episode of Viral Load Podcast, of course. Also, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2......sources..
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Episode 59
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1:24:09
Viral Particle: May the Quartz be with You
Why would a rare tropical disease outbreak emerge in America’s heartland? Get your crystals out and make sure your chakras are aligned, because Jupiter is in retrograde and Viral Load is on the case!...sources
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Episode 58
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30:50
Monkeypox: Furious George
We are back from the grave for this halloween episode. On the 2 year anniversary of Viral Load we dive into the wonderful world of monkeypox. Tune in to find out why you should care about this boil inducing disease. And whatever you do this hal...
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Episode 57
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1:32:07
Revenge of the Variants: Delta, Lambda, Omega-Mu
"The Variants They Are A-Changin' " - Bob Dylan & SARS-CoV-2. What happens when an RNA virus meets an unevenly vaccinated planet? Tune in to our latest COVID-19 episode to find out! ...sources.
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Episode 56
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1:30:40
The Bird Flu Cometh
Move over COVID, there’s a new sheriff in town. While the COVID-19 continues to garner international attention, strains of avian influenza (“bird flu”) are lurking - ready to spark the next pandemic. Is BIRD-FLU-22 next?.sources ...
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Episode 55
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1:53:26
Hansen's Disease (Leprosy): MMMBop
Leprosy probably brings to mind skin falling from the bone and people cast away into quarantined colonies. It is among the most stigmatized diseases in history, that I can think of. In this episode, we cover the past, present, and future of ...
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Episode 54
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1:28:03
COVID-19: Pandemic Origins
The search continues for the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19—and the pathway that it took to leap from animals to humans, resulting in 129 million infections and more than 2.8 million deaths....and counting. The World Health Organi...
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Episode 53
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1:16:20
Viral Particle: Stay Out of the Forest
Brett and Andy dive into the hot topics in the world of diseases for this viral particle (minisode). In an homage to the My Favorite Murder pod, each host chooses a recent disease story and presents without the other knowing what the subject ma...
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Episode 52
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45:09
Transmitted Infections Part 2: Interview with a Love Doctor
On part 2 of our STI saga we sat down with occupational therapist and real life love doctor Karen McCarthy PhD. We discuss dating in the age of apps and the stigma of the gifts that keep on giving. For dating advice and more info on our g...
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Episode 51
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1:14:00
Sexually Transmitted Infections Part 1: Consider the Merkin
In the words of the late Charles Bukowski, "Sex is kicking death in the ass while singing." Join us as we embark on a journey of sex, pathogens, and in our first episode, we explore the world of sexually transmitted infections.source...
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Episode 50
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1:31:11