Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe
2025-03-05 · 52 min · episode 235 · 8 entities
Asserted relationships
-
0.63
evidence rules-v4
Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Entities found in this episode
concepts 4
-
0.50
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
-
0.50
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Education
companys 2
-
0.70
evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Mercatus Center at George Mason University
-
0.40
evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Mercatus Center at George Mason University
persons 1
-
0.66
evidence rules-v4
Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe
podcasts 1
-
0.63
evidence rules-v4
Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We Breathe
Episode description as stored
Carl Zimmer is one of the finest science communicators of our time, having spent decades writing about biology, evolution, and heredity. His latest (and 16 th ) book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe , explores something even more fundamental—how the very air around us is teeming with life, from pollen to pathogens to microbes floating miles above the Earth.
He joins Tyler to discuss why it took scientists so long to accept airborne disease transmission and more, including why 19th-century doctors thought hay fever was a neurosis, why it took so long for the WHO and CDC to acknowledge COVID-19 was airborne, whether ultraviolet lamps can save us from the next pandemic, how effective masking is, the best theory on the anthrax mailings, how the U.S. military stunted aerobiology, the chance of extraterrestrial life in our solar system, what Lee Cronin's "assembly theory" could mean for defining life itself, the use of genetic information to inform decision-making, the strangeness of the Flynn effect, what Carl learned about politics from growing up as the son of a New Jersey congressman, and much more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video .
Recorded January 15th, 2025 .
Help keep the show ad free by donating today!
Other ways to connect
Follow us on X and Instagram
Follow Tyler on X
Follow Carl on X
Sign up for our newsletter
Join our Discord
Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here .
Photo Credit: Mistina Hanscom