In the 1950s, the citizens of Minamata, Japan began experiencing strange symptoms from a disease that authorities struggled to identify and the government failed to properly protect them from. --- Follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lethaldosepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lethaldosepod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQd4E_g4mt9G-rg7vT8nwvw Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/lethaldosepod --- Find the works cited for this episode on Kayla's blog....
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Venus and Kayla describe the return of a heavy hitter in this classic drama! Content warning: mentions of rape and incest Find the full episode on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lethaldosepod You can also support the show by becoming a Paid Subscriber and get ad-free content on Spotify for $0.99: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lethaldosepod/subscribe...
Aug 30, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 29
This microdose talks about the poisons in one of Kayla and Venus' favorite movies, and we also do some myth busting! Find the full episode on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lethaldosepod You can also support the show by becoming a Paid Subscriber and get ad-free content on Spotify for $0.99: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lethaldosepod/subscribe...
Jul 26, 2023•4 min•Season 5Ep. 28
For the first summer movie night of 2023, we watched The Wizard of Oz. This microdose covers the poisons used in the plot and on the set of the Hollywood classic. Find the full episode on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lethaldosepod You can also support the show by becoming a Paid Subscriber and get ad-free content on Spotify for $0.99: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lethaldosepod/subscribe...
Jun 28, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 27
This season finale episode concludes the story of Charles Sobhraj and his accomplices Marie-Andree Leclerc and Ajay Chowdury, who helped him poison, rob, and murder an untold number of tourists in Southeast Asia in 1975 and 1976. Get out your globes for this one! --- Rate us for an entry into our summer giveaway for the chance to win a $50 Visa gift card! --- Follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lethaldosepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lethaldosepod YouTube: http...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Season 5Ep. 42
The serial killer Charles Sobhraj, later known as The Serpent or the Bikini Killer, started out with petty crimes and poisonings during a fractured adolescence divided between Vietnam and France and quickly escalated, leaving a trail of people who liked and trusted him reeling in his wake. --- Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lethaldosepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lethaldosepod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQd4E_g4mt9G-rg7vT8nwvw Tumblr: https:...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 5Ep. 41
In 1985, bottles of Oronamin C containing the herbicide paraquat poisoned 35 people in Japan and killed 12, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the paraquat problem. --- Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lethaldosepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lethaldosepod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQd4E_g4mt9G-rg7vT8nwvw Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/lethaldosepod --- Ajdacic-Gross, V., Weiss, M. G., Ring, M., Hepp, U., Bopp, M., Gutzwil...
Apr 26, 2023•45 min•Season 5Ep. 40
The happy chemical might not be the happy chemical after all, and it could actually kill you. Libby Zion probably didn't know this back in 1984, but her doctors should have. --- Albert, P. R., Benkelfat, C., & Descarries. (2012). The neurobiology of depression—revisiting the serotonin hypothesis. I. Cellular and molecular mechanisms. Phil Trans R Soc B, 367, 2378-2381. Classen, D. C., Resar, R., Griffin, F., Federico, F., Frankel, T., Kimmel, N., Whittington, J. C., Frankel, A., Seger, A., &...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Season 5Ep. 39
The Teacup Poisoner was a chemistry bro/edge lord serial killer (aren't they all?) responsible for the murder of at least three people with thallium, but that wasn't his only poison of choice. ---- Attack on schistosomiasis. (1966). BMJ, 1(5482), 249-250. Emsley, J. (2005). The Elements of Murder. Oxford University Press. Genchi, G., Carocci, A., Lauria, G., Sinicropi, M. S., & Catalano, A. (2021). Thallium use, toxicity, and detoxification therapy: An overview. Appl. Sci., 11(18). Holden, A...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 5Ep. 38
In this conclusion to our series on PFAS chemicals, Venus and Kayla discuss the current status of PFAS regulations around the world, where they have been detected, and how they impact all of us. Find references for this episode over at patreon.com/lethaldosepod (for free!) and at Kayla's blog, writerkaylawoods.wordpress.com . You can also support us by subscribing to ad-free content on Spotify for $0.99, or subscribing on Patreon at the $2 or $5 level and also get bonus content. If you like the ...
Mar 15, 2023•53 min•Season 5Ep. 37
We continue the story of PFAS by examining the fallout from the 1999 lawsuit brought against DuPont by Wilbur Tennant and lawyer Rob Bilott. Both 3M and DuPont knew that their chemicals were dangerous for far longer than they ever have admitted, and regular people have paid the price with their health and their lives. Find references for this episode over at patreon.com/lethaldosepod (for free!) and at Kayla's blog, writerkaylawoods.wordpress.com. You can also support us by subscribing to ad-fre...
Mar 01, 2023•59 min•Season 5Ep. 36
The history of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances stretches back to the Manhattan Project. In this episode, we cover discovery of PFAS and their use at major companies like 3M and DuPont up to their contamination of a cattle pasture in West Virginia that brought their toxicity into the eyes of the public. Find references for this episode over at patreon.com/lethaldosepod (for free!) and at Kayla's blog, writerkaylawoods.wordpress.com. You can also support us by subscribing to ad-free content on...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 35
This is a Patreon re-released episode that can be found ad free at patreon.com/lethaldosepod. In this microdose, Venus and Kayla discuss the portrayal of the case between Pacific Gas and Electric and the city of Hinkley, CA as portrayed in the 2000 film.
Feb 01, 2023•36 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Season 5 opens with the case of trial by media in the suspected murder of Cora Crippen in 1910. In the end, there are more questions than answers, and an innocent man stands accused. Ask Crippen's Reprieve. (1910, 18 Nov 1910). The New York Times . Burney, I., & Pemberton, N. (2010). The rise and fall of celebrity pathology. BMJ , 341 (7786), 1319-1321. Corallo, C. E., Whitfield, A., & Wu, A. (2009). Anticholinergic syndrome following an unintentional overdose of scopolamine. Ther Clin R...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 5Ep. 34
The story of Aum Shinrikyo culminates in the infamous attack on the Tokyo subway with sarin gas and then weeks of raiding Aum facilities and years of trials. This is also our last episode of season 4; we will return in 2023 with season 5! Check us out on social media until then, or find us on Patreon! Fackler, M. (2012). Tokyo Gas Attack Arrest Reawakens National Trauma. The New York Times. Retrieved 07 Dec 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/world/asia/tokyo-gas-attack-arrest-reawaken...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 4Ep. 33
The story of the doomsday cult continues, beginning with their first experiments with sarin and other chemical warfare agents in 1993. (1) Tucker, J. B. War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda ; Pantheon Books, 2006. (2) Medical Management of Chemical Casualties. Office, C. C. C., Ed.; U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense: Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland 21010, 1995. (3) Review of Acute Human-Toxicity Estimates for GB (Sarin). In Review of Acute Human-To...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 32
Before the sarin gas attacks in 1995, the cult members of Aum Shinrikyo were busy experimenting with biochemical warfare agents at the direction of their leader, Shoko Asahara. (1) Kaplan, D. E.; Marshall, A. The Cult at the End of the World ; Crown Publishers, Inc., 1996. (2) Gunaratna, R. Aum Shinrikyo's Rise, Fall and Revival. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses 2018 , 10 (8), 1-6. (3) Metraux, D. A. Religious Terrorism in Japan: The Appeal of Aum Shinrikyo. Asian Survey 1995 , 35 (12). (4)...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 4Ep. 31
We're wrapping up this month's cyanide series with the 1986 murders of Sue Snow and Bruce Nickell by tainted Excedrin. For more information on cyanide in product tampering, check out the Chicago Tylenol Murders on Patreon. Or you can just listen to this episode and we'll touch on it a bit, too. You do you. Just be nice to others. (1) Olson, G. Bitter Almonds: The True Story of Mothers, Daughters, and the Seattle Cyanide Murders ; St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2006. (2) Turner, W. Cyanide Death Halts ...
Nov 02, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 30
In the second episode of our cyanide series, we talk about the rise and fall of Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple, a cult that ended in a massacre of 918 people in 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana, South America. (1) Guinn, J. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple ; Simon & Schuster, 2017. (2) Layton, D. Seductive Poison: a Jonestown survivor's story of life and death in the Peoples Temple ; Anchor Books, 1998. (3) Nelson, S. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. In Amer...
Oct 19, 2022•2 hr 54 min•Season 4Ep. 29
In this episode, we're covering the use of the cyanide-containing pesticide Zyklon B by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Shit gets heavy. (1) Atkinson, J. Ethnic cleansing in Roman Alexandria in 38. Acta Classica 2006 , 49 , 31-54. (2) Jeffreys, D. Hell's Cartel ; Bloomsbury, 2009. (3) Hayes, P. From Cooperation to Complicity: Degussa in the Third Reich ; Cambridge University Press, 2004. (4) Friedlander, H. The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthanasia to the Final Solution ; The University of N...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 4Ep. 28
This episode continues our overarching history of arsenic and covers the on-going mass poisoning of groundwater in Bangladesh that was first identified in 1978 or 1983. (1) Meharg, A. A. Venomous Earth; Macmillan, 2005. (2) Carey, M.; Meharg, C.; Meharg, A. A.; Williams, P.; Marwa, E.; Jiujin, X.; Farias, J. G.; De Silva, P. M. C. S.; Signes-Pastor, A.; Lu, Y.; et al. Global sourcing of low-inorganic arsenic rice grain. Exposure and Health 2019, 12, 711-719. (3) Study identifies better, cheaper ...
Sep 21, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 27
This episode is a deep-dive into a purgative that has withstood the test of time, for better or for worse. To demonstrate the dangers of ipecac in the wrong hands, Kayla tells Venus about the 1994 trials of Christina Rubio for the attempted murder of her daughter and the murder of her son. Trigger warnings for discussion of child abuse and death, and for discussion of eating disorders. (1) Dioscorides, P. De Materia Medica. In Being an Herbal with Many Other Medicinal Materials, IBIDIS Press: Jo...
Sep 07, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 26
In 2007, there was a large-scale poisoning of babies from drinking tainted milk powder in China, which was covered up by government officials and dairy industry executives. This wasn't the first time melamine was used as an artificial protein in a food source, and, unfortunately, it also wasn't the last. 1. Branigan, T. Chinese figures show fivefold rise in babies sick from contaminated milk The Gaurdian [Online], 2008. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/02/china (accessed 19 Apr 2022). ...
May 18, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Even too much of a good thing can be deadly. This episode covers the accidental water intoxication death of Jennifer Strange in 2007 following a radio station contest. Mentions of child abuse later on in the show. 1. . Police Probe Water Intoxication Death CBS News [Online], 2007. cbsnews.com/news/police-probe-water-intoxication-death/ (accessed 07 Apr 2022). 2. . DJs sacked over fatal water drinking contest The Guardian [Online], 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/17/usa (accessed...
May 04, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 24
This episode is an overview of the dangers of synthetic cannabinoids and some mythbusting about their safety and their similarities to naturally produced cannabinoids. Stay safe, everyone! 1. Dawson, A. 2 dead, 41 hospitalized in Hillsborough from poisonous batch of 'Spice' Tampa Bay Times [Online], 2021. https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/12/15/2-dead-41-hospitalized-in-hillsborough-from-poisonous-batch-of-spice/ (accessed 01 Apr 2022). 2. Gottlieb, S., Statement from FDA warning about s...
Apr 20, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 23
We're throwing it back old school and discussing Socrates' state-ordered suicide by hemlock. Was he actually killed with hemlock, as Plato described, or was something else going on? 1. Plato, Euthyphro, The Apology, Crito, Phaedo. In The Last Days of Socrates, Radice, B., Ed. Penguin Books: New York, 1969. 2. Hughes, B., The Hemlock Cup. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 2011. 3. Brickhouse, T. C.; Smith, N. D., The Trial and Execution of Socrates. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2002. 4. Bonner, R. J...
Apr 06, 2022•55 min•Season 3Ep. 22
This episode continues our foray into poisons used by agents of the Russian government which we began examining in Episode 20: Ricin. We cover the creation of The Chamber, truth serums, and the polonium used to assassinate Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. 1. Volodarsky, B., The KGB's Poison Factory. Minneapolis: Frontline Books, 2009. 2. Review of Acute Human-Toxicity Estimates for Selected Chemical-Warfare Agents. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C., 1997. (accessed 18 May 2021). 3. Fitzgeral...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 21
By popular listener demand, today's episode covers the 1978 assassination of Georgi Markov using one of the world's oldest poisons. 1. KGB. https://www.history.com/topics/russia/kgb (accessed 06 Jan 2022). 2. Pringle, R. W. Federal Security Service. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Federal-Security-Service (accessed 06 Jan 2022). 3. Murrell, K. B.; Ioffe, G.; French, R. A. The Kremlin of Moscow. https://www.britannica.com/place/Moscow/The-Kremlin (accessed 06 Jan 2022). 4. Political Assassinatio...
Mar 02, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 20
In 1915, an orderly at the German Odd Fellows home killed eight patients with chloroform. A hundred years later, chloroform was still being used for murderous purposes in the murder of Sameena Imam. 1. Blum, D., The Poisoner's Handbook. Penguin Books: New York, 2010. 2. Lane, B.; Gregg, W., Mors, Frederick. In The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Berkley Books: New York, 1995. 3. Buxton, D. W., John Snow and the advent of chloroform. British J of Anaesthesia 1924, 1 (3), 101-107. 4. Snow, J., On ...
Jan 26, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Happy new year! In this episode, Kayla and Venus talk about one of the most popular poisons known to humans and how it was used in the serial slayings of indigenous Canadian women in the 1980s. Content warning for sexual assault, race-based hate crimes, crimes against sex workers, and brief mention of assault on a child. 1. Slingerland, E., Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization Little, Brown Spark: New York, 2021. 2. Alcohol and the Distillation of Wine in Arabic Sou...
Jan 12, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 18
