I'm Alan Alder and this is Clear In Vivid, conversations about connecting and communicating.

I do think that you have to keep remembering that you're telling a story to a person and

that person can't read your mind.

That person is not an expert.

They depend entirely on you to learn about this subject and you need to find a way to get

that across while telling a story.

And you know most stories are about people so you have to have a sense for the people as

well.

Carl Zimmer has a knack for storytelling that's so good.

He can hook us on some pretty unlikely topics like a gruesome parasitic worm or the microbes

that live in his belly button.

Or one of my favorites, then the Andertal that lurks in all of us.

He covers a very wide range.

His most recent book, She Has Her Mother's Lab, includes the unhappy story of a young girl

who had the misfortune to become a symbol of one of the most shameful episodes in the

history of science.

Carl I'm so thrilled that you're on the show today.

Thank you.

Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.

Thank you so much.

I'm such a fan of yours.

You have this incredible ability to make me read the rest of an article.

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