Toxic History!

About Toxic History!

Toxic History! is a narrative medicine lecture series where medical experts tell you stories from the history of poison. Human beings have known about poison – substances that harm and even kill– for thousands of years. Poisons have been seen as mysterious, supernatural, and enigmatic. What are these plants, mixtures, and elements with such powerful properties? It is only in the past century that science has begun to demystify these chemicals and explain how they work. Still, the impact they have on the world – from cultish mass suicides to chemical attacks to a single case of homicide – can be profound. Toxic History! explores the impact on society, culture, and science behind poisonous events in history.

Publisher

Adam Blumenberg MD

Category

health & fitness · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Jun 2022

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

57 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   What Paracelsus has to Teach Toxicologists

   We all know “the dose makes the poison;” we feature the saying in our professional associations, our merch and our inside jokes. What if that is actually not what Paracelsus said, and what does this 16th century physician and his experience as a healthcare provider practicing during the information explosion brought on by the printing press have to teach medical toxicologists living through the leading edge of the AI information revolution? This talk hopes to teach the listener a little bit more about the alchemist who has been claimed as a founder of toxicology and discuss how his approach to his era’s information deluge can teach us to face the fire hydrant of content in 2026.

2. 

   13 Sept 2026

   Flooding vs Friction: History Lessons on What Causes Drug Crises, and How to End Them

   This talk draws lessons about drug policy from the history of what Professor Herzberg calls “white markets,” i.e., legal psychoactive pharmaceuticals. America is famous for its drug wars, but from Bayer’s Heroin to Purdue’s OxyContin, white markets have always been far larger, and while they have caused three major public health catastrophes, they have also been a site of policy creativity that can serve as a model for maximizing the benefit, while reducing the harms, of these desirable but dangerous products.

3. 

   11 Aug 2026

   Quicksilver: The Original Influencer and Timeless Toxin

   Mercury has been used since before recorded history as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. In this episode, we explore the liquid metal’s functions and forms in consumer products, from ancient alchemical potions to modern skin-whitening soaps.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

22

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

Contact Toxic History!

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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