Life: our planet is teeming with it. The staggering diversity of the biological world is visible everywhere, from tiny insects to sprawling trees, from orchids and corgis to mold and lemurs and banana slugs and oyster mushrooms and . . . you get the idea. But even the boundless wonder of the macroscopic world may pale in comparison to all the life we cannot see.

Jocelyn and Bradley are joined this week by Dr. Hannah Gavin, a veritable Willy Wonka of microbes, who introduces us to a vast, complex world of dazzling drama invisible to the naked eye but present all around us—and even within us. Hannah shares how being “professionally curious” led her to research questions at the intersection of microbiology, ecology, and human health. She discusses the far-reaching potential of the gut microbiome to impact our physiology; what differentiates “beneficial” bacteria from pathogens; and how microbes can perform valuable environmental services like digesting plastic. Along the way, she explains the differences between viruses and bacteria and bacteriophages (oh my!), and how viruses challenge our understanding of life itself. The friends also discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has opened new spaces for dialogue between scientists and non-scientists, creating opportunities for us to learn together about the sometimes terrifying, sometimes beautiful, always awe-inspiring power of the microbiological world.

Follow Hannah on Twitter @micro_cultured, and learn more about her amazing work at the links below!
Harvard’s Microbial Sciences Initiative: https://msi.harvard.edu/
SEA-PHAGES program: https://seaphages.org/
“World of Viruses” exhibit (Harvard Museums of Science and Culture): https://hmsc.harvard.edu/world-viruses
“A Fascinating World of Viruses” (Hannah on the HMSC Connects! podcast):https://hmscconnects.podbean.com/e/a-fascinating-world-of-viruses-with-microbiologist-hannah-gavin/
“The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage” (Kurzgesagt): https://youtu.be/YI3tsmFsrOg
Related episodes:
Turkey, Stuffing, and Other Gastronomic Experiments (Soon Kiat Lau): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/24-soon-kiat-lau-turkey-stuffing-other-gastronomic/id1471423633?i=1000458033346

Our Soils, Ourselves (Yamina Pressler): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/39-yamina-pressler-our-soils-ourselves/id1471423633?i=1000469510259
Everyone Has Herpes (Lisa Poppe): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/8-lisa-poppe-everyone-has-herpes/id1471423633?i=1000446370166