The smaller number of noteworthy podcast episodes this week is balanced by the particularly high levels of quality and interesting content in those noted.
Noteworthy Podcast Episodes (Week Ending 4 July 2025)
disease
Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation
On the very same day that a copy of the newly published “Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation” reached my desk for review, the top natural history story in the general news was the bleaching of corals off the coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Opening its cover to read through its table of contents, my sense of serendipity was immediately stimulated by discovering that following an introduction by one of the books co-editors, David Jessup, the very first full chapter is Thierry M. Work’s “Coral Reef Ecosystem Health.”
Fatal Jump
There I was, minding my own business, listening to the most recent episodes in my podcast feed, when the new episode of the “Science History” podcast queued up and began playing. As the subject was – or at least initially seemed to be – the history of the spread of infectious diseases, a particular interest of mine, a cocked an ear and began paying more focused attention. Within ten minutes, my mind was, as the kids say, totally blown.
Crab Wars (Second Edition)
When William Sargent’s first edition of “Crab Wars” was published in 2006, few outside the biomedical community knew of the value of their unusual blood to the research and development of a range of pharmaceuticals. Now, following a number of popular articles about the subject, far more people are aware of it, but just how up-to-date they be in their understanding is unclear. Thus, a second, fully updated edition of the book is a most welcome development indeed.