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This Podcast Will Kill You

Ep 75 Mercury: The cost of progress

This Podcast Will Kill You

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Health & Fitness, Science

4.817.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 June 2021

⏱️ 84 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When you think of mercury, what springs to mind? Is it the entrancing drop of shimmery liquid that flows from a broken thermometer, giving the metal the name quicksilver? Or is it the warnings of overconsumption of fish and bioaccumulation? Or perhaps it’s the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland? The story of mercury, in both its biology as well as its history, is vast and varied, and in this episode, we attempt to piece together a picture of this heavy metal. We first delve into the pathophysiological effects of the different forms of mercury exposure on the body, and then take a narrow tour of the metal’s history, focusing primarily on Minamata disease, before wrapping it all up with a look at just how widespread mercury contamination is today. Although the relationship between humans and mercury is as old as history itself, there are still so many lessons to be learned from it, especially “what is the true cost of progress?”. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0

We at Wundry live, breathe, and downright obsess over True Crime.

0:04.0

And now we're launching the ultimate True Crime fan experience, Exhibit C.

0:09.2

Join now by following Wundry Exhibit C on Facebook and listen to True Crime on Wundry and Amazon

0:15.3

music. Exhibit C. It's truly criminal.

0:21.4

My love for my husband has become stronger since I fell ill with this disease.

0:25.7

My mouth quivers so badly that I can't touch the food people bring me.

0:29.7

So I give all my presence to Moe. He's been so helpful, you know. So kind.

0:35.3

Did I tell you before that I'm his second wife?

0:38.0

We met through a matchmaker. I came here from Amakusa.

0:42.0

Less than three years after we got married, I fell ill with this strange disease.

0:46.1

Such bad luck. I can't even adjust my kimono. Look how I shake.

0:51.2

No matter how often I tell my body to stop shaking, it won't obey me.

0:54.8

I can't control my own hands and legs. Whenever he comes here, my husband helps me adjust my kimono,

1:00.8

muttering that I've become a helpless woman. Once he said I should wear underpants,

1:05.5

because my kimono kept falling in front. So he brought me long drawers and helped me into them.

1:10.6

As he helped me into the pants I said to him, I have really become a helpless creature, my dear.

1:15.7

I want to get my own body back the way it was before. I want to go back to the strong, healthy body

1:22.4

with which I came into the world. I've never been sick. I've never had to stay in bed. I was

1:28.1

brimming with energy. I could work harder than any man. It used to be so lovely out on the sea.

1:35.0

I want nothing else, just to be like I was before I got the strange disease, to be able to

1:40.4

grow a boat and to land a net again. I feel so miserable now. A helpless wretch with a body like a freak.

1:47.4

I can't even wash my underwear when I have my period. If I don't work, my family won't be able to make ends meet.

...

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