Patient Zero
Summary
This Radiolab episode explores the concept of "Patient Zero" through three distinct narratives. It begins with Typhoid Mary, the first documented healthy carrier of typhoid fever, and her controversial quarantine. The show then debunks the myth of Gaëtan Dugas as the origin of the AIDS epidemic, tracing HIV’s true roots to a chimpanzee spillover in Cameroon around 1908. Finally, it investigates the invention of the high-five, contrasting a fabricated college athlete story with the tragic life of Glenn Burke, the gay baseball player who likely popularized the gesture.
Topics discussed
Intro and sponsors
The mystery of Typhoid Mary's origins
George Soper hunts down Mary Mallon
Mary's isolation on North Brother Island
Mary's final years and death
Patient Zero: The myth of Gaëtan Dugas
Tracing HIV's origins to 1908
The cut hunter and the leap to humans
HIV transmission and sponsors
The viral story of Lamont Slezyngia
Glenn Burke and the 1977 Dodgers high five
Debunking the Murray State high five myth
Other claims to the high five's invention
Conclusion and credits
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