The Poisoner's Almanac

Hey poison pals! This one is a bit longer than usual, so bear with us (beer with us?). We are tackling alcohol (ethanol vs methyl alcohol) and the Prohibition of the 1920s/30s in the US. Alcohol is a toxin and we can't not discuss its effects on the body and on culture as well as the effects of methyl/wood alcohol which blinded and killed many during the Prohibition. Also, come learn how the Ameri...

Hello my poison friends. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Lets go back in time on this Friday 13th (we recorded yesterday lol so technically it was Friday 13 then) so we can pull apart some long believed myths concerning the involvement of a few powerful families and poisons (among other accusations). I do love a good history lesson and these are a wild ride through rumors of witchcraft...

Poison friends! Today's episode is all about food adulteration (drinks and some medicine/supplements as well) that was taking place in the 1800s-early 1900s (even some more recent scandals). My biggest source for this episode was Deborah Blum's The Poison Squad, which I highly recommend (her other book, The Poisoner's Handbook is also great). It follows scientists (namely one, Dr. Harvey Wiley) an...

Hello friends, I do hope you are all well and ready for some toxic facts and tales. I wanted to discuss a little bit about how addictive substances effect the brain/body, especially some specific ones I know you've heard of as well as a few more lesser known substances found in various cultures around the world. Trigger warning for addiction (we are discussing cocaine and nicotine--as found in tob...

Hello, Hello! I hope this weekend brings you all some rest. In this episode we are discussing some "miner" details of asbestos...okay that was dumb, but seriously, asbestos was once mined and used for the production of building materials and other products around the world (still is in some parts) and we just need to discuss the toxic effects it has had/has on the body. Also I feel like we have no...

Hello, Hello! This one is a bit longer than the usual episode, but I wanted to actually finish everything I had planned, Starting off with what was left out of last weeks episode, Colchicine. Then we dive into the wild world of anesthesia and paralytics that are known for their use during surgery/procedures but have also had a rough history recreationally and criminally. We discuss such famous cas...

I know what you are thinking: What in the world do veronal and visine have to do with eachother? Well, they both begin with V, and I was going to discuss a third medicine in this episode called colchicine, which kinda rhymes with visine, but well, I got too excited during my research and there just was not enough time in the episode for that last one. No worries, though, I will be covering it next...

Hey poison pals! Want to thank all of you for listening as well as our monthly supporters, Karl Zeigler Jr, and Taylor McCaleb! You guys rock and we are so thankful. This week's episode nearly didn't happen because of so much life interference and even during the recording you'll notice that Adam had to go into work after the first half, so sorry if the intro feels a bit rushed! This week I wanted...

Hello, poison pals! Here is the conclusion of the radium girls and their fight for justice. Radium is only one of the many poisons that have been used industrially and workers rights to know and protect themselves are probably newer than you think. We also discuss a bit about how the cleanup of these materials is going and the effects radium exposure even in the form of waste has had on the surrou...

Hello poison-philes, here is part 2 of Radium. I hope you guys are ready for some drama inside and outside of the court as these girls fight for their lives and for justice as the radium literally eats away at them. Radium is obviously not the miracle people once thought it was and here we will review how it operates in the human body as well as it's history in industry and medicine. These girls's...

Hello my poison pals, I hope all of you are well and ready for a tale of radioactive proportions. We've discussed a bit about polonium recently and I think it is time we brought up Radium in all it's toxic glory. It had a unique place in history as it's discovery was thought to be miraculous. Lets discuss some of those who found it anything but that. I had to make this into parts as there was just...

Hello, my favorite poison peoples! We are discussing a persistent pollutant and a couple of nasty elements with some glowing qualities. Get ready for some history, science, mystery, and intrigue as we dive into the discovery of these killers and how they have been used to poison, destroy, and assassinate. As, always follow us and leave us some feedback, we always love hearing from y'all! Follow us...

Hello, poison pals! Let's dig into some poisons you may have never heard of. Many of these had their moment in the past, but still exist and are just as lethal, so be careful out there. Also, y'all know I love some history and folklore, so get ready for some story time with toxins as we delve into some feisty foliage. Also, we love hearing from y'all so let us know if you've heard of or seen these...

Hey poison pals! Becca, here. This episode, I give Adam three real cases to see how well he's been listening and if he can guess the poison involved in each case. Feel free to guess as you listen as well, but be aware it can get tricky. Don't worry, I will be discussing new poisons in the next episode, but let us know if you like this format, too and we can do it again sometime. Stay hydrated and...

Becca, here! This episode, we discuss where the deadly poison ricin comes from, as well as how it has been used historically and (of course) criminally. For some reason, there has been the occasional ricin in the mail incident and of course we'll discuss those, as well as other terroristic/killer intentions (and spies! we can't leave out spies in this case). We also talk about Abrin (a similar poi...

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The terms 'venomous' and 'poisonous' mean different things which is why this episode is separate from the last one. There are venomous caterpillars. Yep, you read that right. There are caterpillars that have just had it and they're coming for us. I mean, you could probably outrun one because they're not that fast, but what if it's a surprise attack like they dive bomb onto your shoulder from the t...

There's a church that was formed around licking poisonous frogs because they have hallucinogens on their skin. They have a Facebook page. This is real. I wish I was making this all up, but no. If you're feeling down, just remember you're doing better than the yahoos who lick poisonous frogs sitting on a church pew with other yahoos who think this is normal behavior. Cut yourself some slack brah. Y...

More cyanide? Yes, we have Part 2 this week. Did you know the origin of the phrase 'drinking the Kool-Aid'? It's not pretty. And it's directly connected to cyanide. I realize this could damage our collective impression of Kool-Aid, which is obviously the giant Kool-Aid man crashing through the wall at someone's house with an 'OH YEAH!'. But don't worry (your honor) we leave the Kool-Aid man out of...

The guy that blows up the lab where they made Captain America is played by Richard Armitage, who also played Thorin Oakenshield in the Hobbit trilogy by the way, so he runs away and Captain Steve Rogers chases him and catches him, but then the guy bites down on a false tooth which is actually a cyanide vial and he foams at the mouth and expires. Yeah, that's cyanide. Super secret spy stuff. Also w...

Bob Ross paints happy trees. He would never paint these trees because they're actively trying to kill us. They're what the US Department of the Interior refers to as 'unhappy.' Like, they're so unhappy it feels like someone made them in a lab. Pretty sure Mugatu from Zoolander made these trees. We're obviously people of taste and culture, us Zoolander fans. Anyway, here's Wonderwall. Thanks for li...

Have people been accidentally buried alive because they were presumed dead but really it was just opium poisoning and there were some kids playing in the graveyard and heard someone screaming from underground but nobody checked until the next day and now I won't sleep well for a week thinking about this because it's so horrifying? At the risk of spoiling it....yes, all of that is true. Enjoy this...

Is there a poisonous plant that contains the precursor to the cardiac medication digoxin? We tackle that in this episode!

Is the mushroom from the Super Mario Brothers' franchise actually toxic in real life? Is it ok for Toad to have it on his head? We answer these and many other existential fungi questions in this episode. Once you've finished listening, you will be able to extricate lethal fungi from the mouths of your unsuspecting friends and loved ones who are doing some sort of Survivor Man challenge to kinda, y...

Does chloroform really make you go to sleep when doused on a rag and held over your mouth or is that just Hollywood? Did one of my wife's best friends get her a book all about strychnine and make this episode even better? Listen and find out!