In Episode 241, we look into the new rabies vaccine and consider the possibility of getting bit by a bat, not knowing it, catching rabies, and dying. We delve into rabies vaccines, bats, public-health messaging, and the fear that surrounds one of the world's most infamous diseases. We discuss stories of people encountering bats and being advised to receive post-exposure rabies treatment, similarities in media stories, public-health recommendations, vaccine campaigns, pharmaceutical companies, side effects, risk perception, and the question of how fear influences medical decisions.

We explore broader questions surrounding infectious diseases, vaccination, medical messaging, government health agencies, pharmaceutical incentives, monkeypox, Ebola, dengue, malaria, mosquitoes, genetically modified mosquitoes, Bill Gates, population-control rhet ...