Best Updike Podcasts (2026)

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From the Vault - Endometriosis: Menstrual Backwash (Ep 88) 2:11:35

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5d ago2:11:35

2:11:35

This episode originally aired on January 11th, 2022. Chances are you know someone with endometriosis, or perhaps you’re affected yourself. But despite its incredibly high prevalence, endo remains almost criminally understudied, undertreated, and underacknowledged. In this episode, we aim to shed light on many aspects of endometriosis, first by exam…

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From the Vault - Hepatitis B: Hepatiti, Take 2 (Ep 89) 1:30:51

12d ago1:30:51

1:30:51

This episode originally aired on January 25th, 2022. In light of the recent changes by RFK jr’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to eliminate the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in the US, a decision which will result in preventable infections and deaths in this country every year, it seems timely to remind everyo…

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Ep 196 Health Myths: Fact or fiction? 1:06:16

19d ago1:06:16

1:06:16

Did your grandma ever warn you against going out in the cold with wet hair because “you’ll catch your death”? Or have you ever tossed a few more carrots into your shopping basket in the hope that they’ll improve your vision? There are countless health myths about how to prevent or treat disease, what food will give you superhuman powers or turn you…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: The Anti-Death League by Kingsley Amis 48:06

19d ago48:06

48:06

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Special Episode: Dr. Homer Venters & Outbreak Behind Bars 55:59

26d ago55:59

55:59

[Content warning: self-harm, suicide, violence] In this day and age, we are equipped with an abundance of tools and knowledge to fight the spread of disease. Yet what good does that toolkit do if we lack the resources or the will to implement it where it is needed? One area of great need is our correctional facilities, our prisons, jails, immigrati…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: The Old Men at the Zoo by Angus Wilson 42:30

1M ago42:30

42:30

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 195 Salt Part 2: The Substance 53:03

1M ago53:03

53:03

We ended last week’s episode on a bit of a cliffhanger: is salt actually bad for us and if so, why does there still seem to be a debate? This week’s episode holds all the answers. We’re sifting through the noise to figure out what salt actually does in our bodies, how it might impact our health, and why we crave this delicious substance. If you’ve …

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A Thousand Years of Capitalism 37:19

29d ago37:19

37:19

We’re talking about capitalism this time, trying to reckon the power of big money to shape—even rule—the human species. Capitalism is the one-word name given to a thousand-year-old force. It’s not a science or doctrine or mere politics. It’s a thoroughly human and ever-changing arrangement of affairs that can produce rapid and vast expansion of wea…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth 41:11

29d ago41:11

41:11

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 194 Salt Part 1: The Seasoning 55:35

1M ago55:35

55:35

Have you ever thrown a pinch of spilled salt over your left shoulder? Or said to someone “well, take his opinion with a grain of salt”? Or looked up the potential salary of a job listing? Salt is so deeply embedded in our cultures, our languages, our history as a species that we often take its influence for granted. We may forget (or perhaps we nev…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban 49:02

1M ago49:02

49:02

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive 49:47

2M ago49:47

49:47

In an anatomy and physiology class, you may learn how the different heart valves work to circulate your blood, how the structure of your kidney helps to maintain electrolyte levels, and how the expansion and contraction of your lungs sets off a carefully orchestrated cascade of gas exchange and transport. The human body is an endlessly fascinating …

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John Updike’s Vocation 38:30

2M ago38:30

38:30

We’re rediscovering John Updike in the afterlife of a great writer. The Selected Letters of John Updike, just published, come to 800 pages of unguarded messages to his wives and lovers, to his mother and his editors. We’re turning to his kids for a fresh measure of the artist who cracked open the sexual revolution of the 1960s and lived it his own …

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Ninety-Nine Novels: Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn 42:22

2M ago42:22

42:22

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 193 Necrotizing Fasciitis: A strange beast 1:07:17

2M ago1:07:17

1:07:17

If you were asked to describe necrotizing fasciitis in three words, you might choose: rapid, deadly, and rare. The third of those adjectives may provide some comfort, but the first two are the clear inspiration for this infection’s more lurid nickname: flesh-eating bacteria. In this episode, we get up close and personal with necrotizing fasciitis a…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: The Coup by John Updike 47:38

2M ago47:38

47:38

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 192 New World Screwworm: Oh-oh here they come 1:10:08

2M ago1:10:08

1:10:08

It’s the stuff nightmares are made of. A fly lands on an open wound and lays hundreds of eggs, from which hatch countless ravenous maggots. There they writhe, devouring flesh, insatiable and relentless. Every minute they dig deeper and deeper until flesh gives way to bone. Even the species name of these maggots inspires a shiver of fear: Cochliomyi…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles 37:21

2M ago37:21

37:21

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends! 54:41

2M ago54:41

54:41

Science doesn’t always get it right the first time (or the second, or the third, or even the ninety-ninth!). And while we may chuckle at the outlandish things people believed or the goofy experiments they tried, we forget two things: 1) those failures helped us get where we are today and 2) a hundred years from now, people will probably be laughing…

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Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope 53:02

2M ago53:02

53:02

Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope is Brandon Terry’s long-awaited personal and philosophical case for struggle and optimism in the long civil rights movement in our country. It’s a map of our minds and our memories, a catalog of our judgments and feelings around an epic era in American history that isn’t over. I take it as a brave and deeply thoughtf…

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Ninety-Nine Novels: The Vendor of Sweets by R.K. Narayan 49:13

2M ago49:13

49:13

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation 1:10:02

2M ago1:10:02

1:10:02

As we learned last week, starvation extends far beyond hunger and what a lack of food does to the human body. Similarly, famine is much more than a food shortage and starvation on a population-level scale. This week, we’re picking up where we left off last episode to explore the definitions, drivers, and many dimensions of famine. We trace famines …

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Ninety-Nine Novels: Cocksure by Mordecai Richler 45:04

3M ago45:04

45:04

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and othe…

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Ep 190 Starvation: More than hunger 1:04:09

3M ago1:04:09

1:04:09

Deprived of food, our bodies do the best they can to keep us alive and functioning as long as possible. As the days pass, the rhythms of our lives change: our metabolism, our heartbeats, our hormones, even our thoughts shift to adjust to this period of scarcity. This response is evolutionarily engrained, following a variable but fairly prescribed p…