Radiolab - Guts - Archive FM

This hour, we dive into the messy mystery in the middle of us. What's going on down there? And what can the rumblings deep in our bellies tell us about ourselves? We join author Mary Roach and reach inside a live cow's stomach. Talk with writer Frederick Kaufman about our first peek into the wonderful world of human digestion that came about thanks to a hunting accident. And explore with show regular, science writer, and fellow water drinker, Carl Zimmer, about the trillions of microscopic creatures that keep us regulated, physically, but also, maybe, emotionally and spiritually. Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Duration: 54m
Broadcast on: 04 Nov 2022
Audio Format: other

This hour, we dive into the messy mystery in the middle of us. What's going on down there? And what can the rumblings deep in our bellies tell us about ourselves?

We join author Mary Roach and reach inside a live cow's stomach. Talk with writer Frederick Kaufman about our first peek into the wonderful world of human digestion that came about thanks to a hunting accident. And explore with show regular, science writer, and fellow water drinker, Carl Zimmer, about the trillions of microscopic creatures that keep us regulated, physically, but also, maybe, emotionally and spiritually.

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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Hey, I'm a lot the faster. This hour we dive deep into the vault back to 2012 to explore The grotesque tube slide that lives inside all of us. I mean, it seems straightforward, right? It should be like Every day several times a day put food in your mouth some time later comes out the other side But what really happens in between? Now I so vividly remember listening to this episode when it came out what I still love about it is It's just this idea that that one errant gunshot wound Opened up this portal for us to peer inside ourselves and to see what's actually going on in there in real time and and and and that what we saw Upended so much of what we thought we knew about the kind of Messy mystery in the middle of us I have a feeling call it a gut feeling that you're gonna enjoy it. So without further ado. I give you guts best enjoyed after a meal Listening to radio lab radio from WNY We're gonna start this show today. Hey Mary with Mary Roach. Hey Tim here. Hi Tim Hey, let me see if Mary is one of our favorite authors mostly cuz she kind of writes about stuff that's Yookie gross. I'm the kind of person if I'm I find myself in an operating room for whatever I'm reporting on I'm the kind of a person where they they'll be like Ms. Roach. You need to step back your head is actually inside the body And for her latest book called gulp. She got really really into and inside cows Yeah, the fistulated cows that the agricultural schools have and what's a Fistulated cow fistula is a regular anatomical Passageway and a fistulated cow in this case has a whole opening right in its side So that you can actually stick your hand into its side and reach all the way down to the stomach This is the living cow, right? It's a live cow and you've done this. Yeah, it was It was this amazing because you really you know a cow is she did it at the University, California Davis You're just you're standing there and sort of normally and for some reason I've worn a skirt and and kitten heels And I'm my hosts are wearing manure encrusted muck boots, and there's a source of great entertainment Yeah, and it's packed really tightly you got to really work your arm The guy I was with Ed DePeters, and he's like no keep going keep going. I'm like, I don't know Ed I'm not sure really go further in there. Yeah, keep going keep going and I'm literally up to my shoulder Inside this cow. I so want to do that. Where are you guys? We're in New York. Yeah, I know where this went out there I can get you a fist-related cow Walking down to a barn and I'll go get the group. All right. Yeah, I didn't actually get to do it unfortunately But we sent our producer Tim Howard Out to Rutgers University Where a bunch of high schoolers had come to see lily lily lily the fist-related cow, okay Let's give it a go. I'm gonna pop the cork. All right Did he say cork? Yeah, you have to uncork the hole in the can and steal the steam coming out All right, this is a Tim reaching his hand in but straight across the top to the far side Okay. Oh my god It's powerful in there. Oh, god. I mean, I was a little worried. It was gonna break my hand. What do you mean to like pressure? Yeah, it's a very muscular organist Mixing and I can feel the side of the stomach pushing against squeezing and contracting in Really squeezing it's it's groping you back of stuck So I'm just gonna try to go a little bit A little bit deeper and it's hot. It's steamy. It's like bubbly and physical. It's it's very Yeah And she is so calm right now. I can't believe it the cows board and I've got this look on my face Like I've seen god or something Mary says that for all her times in morgues and in all the places she's been this one

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