Ep 118 Asbestos: Corruption and cancer and corporate greed, oh my!

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.8 • 17.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2023

⏱️ 102 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

An entire generation probably first learned the word “mesothelioma” and its link to asbestos from those ubiquitous commercials in the 1990s and 2000s. You know the one: “if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation.” These commercials made it seem like mesothelioma suddenly came out of nowhere. Was this a newly discovered disease? Wasn’t asbestos banned? How did asbestos cause mesothelioma? Heck, what even was asbestos? By seeking to answer all those questions and more, this episode picks up where those commercials left off. We detail how teeny tiny asbestos fibers can wreak immense devastation, untangle the long human history of asbestos products, and assess the current status of this fibrous mineral, which is disappointingly far from banned worldwide. No story of asbestos would be complete without a spotlight on the town of Libby, Montana, where brave crusaders continue to fight against a company whose callous negligence led to injury, death, and widespread environmental contamination. Tune in to find out where salamanders, The Wizard of Oz, Charlemagne, and The River Wild fit into the story of asbestos.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Many put their hope in Dr. Serhat.
0:02.6	His company was worth half a billion dollars.
0:05.2	His research promised groundbreaking treatments for HIV and cancer.
0:09.5	But the brilliant doctor was hiding a secret.
0:12.9	You can listen to Dr Death, bad magic,
0:15.4	exclusively an ad free by subscribing to Wundry Plus in the Wundry app.
0:20.5	In early 1996, Les had a cough that he just couldn't shake. He didn't think much of it.
0:27.6	It had been a hard cold winter and he just figured he had a touch of bronchitis.
0:32.4	But Gala Benafield wasn't so much. and he just figured he had a touch of bronchitis.
0:35.4	But Gala Benafield wasn't so sure.
0:39.6	She suggested that Les go over to see Dr White House in Spokane.
0:44.0	White House had already treated several people from Libby. Finally, as much to get Gaeloff as back as anything,
0:47.4	Les made an appointment, and he and Rita
0:50.2	got into their 89 Dodge and took the five hour drive over to Spokane one spring day in 1996.
0:57.0	Less was a little embarrassed about the whole thing when he got there.
1:00.0	He told the nurse, I don't feel sick.
1:03.0	Alan White House put him at ease right away.
1:06.0	He looked over Less's information and said,
1:08.0	So you're from Libby, eh?
1:11.0	Yes.
1:12.0	Well, I've got a pretty good idea why you're here. You do? Yep, take your shirt off. We're going to do a chest x-ray and a breathing test.
1:20.0	About 45 minutes later White House came back into the room and leaned on the examining table and said,
	...

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