The Smell of Hell
Summary
This Radiolab episode explores the overlooked element sulfur through three distinct stories. ER doctor Averi Mitra recounts the 1994 Riverside ER incident where a patient’s death caused mass fainting, potentially linked to sulfur compounds. Historian Jeanette Conant details the 1943 Bari disaster, where a secret mustard gas shipment poisoned Allied troops and inadvertently launched modern chemotherapy research. Finally, the show examines hydrogen sulfide’s vital role in brain function and memory, revealing how this toxic gas is essential for learning and may help combat Alzheimer’s.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: Common Sense Media and A Ghost in Your Ear
Introduction: The element of sulfur
Mystery: ER staff collapse and patient death
Investigation: Autopsy and gas chromatography results
Theory: DMSO2 and airborne toxic event
Sensory evolution: Why we fear sulfur smells
History: The 1943 Bari harbor disaster
Diagnosis: Identifying mustard gas exposure
Revelation: The secret of the John Harvey ship
Legacy: From poison to chemotherapy
Sponsors: AT&T, Bombas, and Smalls
Science: Hydrogen sulfide in the brain
Research: H2S and memory in Alzheimer's mice
Practical tips: Boosting H2S via diet
Evolution: Sulfur's role in early life
Astrophysics: Searching for sulfur in space
Credits and upcoming events
Sponsor: Poster House exhibition
Sponsor: Odoo enterprise apps
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