Ep 211 Motion Sickness: It comes in waves
This Podcast Will Kill You
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 17.7K Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2026
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It comes on sneakily. You become aware of your stomach. You break out in a cold sweat. Your mouth fills with saliva. And before you know it, you’re leaning over the side of the boat (or out of the car, or into the airplane sick bag), barfing up your breakfast. Motion sickness. We’ve all been there, or at least most of us have. Why? What is it about our physiology that breaks down as soon as we travel via water, vehicle, or air? That’s exactly what we’re going to explore in this episode. From how long humans (and other species) have been coping with these debilitating symptoms to what’s actually going on in your brain to trigger the breakdown, from what’s in the most nauseating historical “cures” for motion sickness to why the drugs we have today have some positive effect, we’re covering it all.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is exactly right. |
| 0:06.4 | Every single complex societies has ever existed in the history of the world so far has collapsed. |
| 0:12.1 | Do we think we're different? |
| 0:14.5 | Are We Doomed? The new podcast about the end of the world. |
| 0:17.6 | I don't like where this is headed. |
| 0:19.5 | I'm Ben Bradford. Join me for Are We Dumed, |
| 0:22.6 | part of the NPR Network. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Christina Kupka-Decker, |
| 0:32.4 | and for as long as I can remember, I have experienced motion sickness in cars, planes, boats, trains, and theme park rides. |
| 0:42.2 | The first time I experienced severe motion sickness, however, was when I was 16 years old on a flight |
| 0:48.9 | from Los Angeles to New York. As soon as the plane took off, I was hit with intense vertigo and nausea. Within about 15 |
| 0:56.6 | minutes, I began vomiting, which quickly turned into dry heaving for the remainder of the six-hour |
| 1:02.3 | flight. The plane suddenly felt smaller, breathing felt heavier, and my head was spinning so intensely |
| 1:09.7 | that it felt like it might explode. I felt overheated, overwhelmed, and my head was spinning so intensely that it felt like it might explode. I felt overheated, overwhelmed, |
| 1:14.6 | and my mouth was either extremely dry or excessively watery. I am now 37, and unfortunately, |
| 1:22.1 | this has never changed. The difficult part is that I love to travel. So in many ways, traveling means accepting |
| 1:30.7 | that I will likely suffer through the journey. Over the years, I have seen many specialists, |
| 1:37.3 | including neurologists and ear, nose and throat doctors. I have tried vestibular therapy, |
| 1:43.2 | had CT scans, MRIs, and undergone hearing tests. |
| 1:49.2 | Doctors rolled out Meneer's disease, which causes symptoms similar to what I experience. |
| 1:55.0 | Despite all of these evaluations, no one has been able to explain why my motion sickness is so debilitating. |
| 2:03.4 | Even when I am the one driving, I sometimes experience nausea and vertigo, |
| 2:09.3 | especially on winding roads or in heavy traffic, |
... |
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