Preventing Paralysis | Marching Towards a Cure | S4-E1
American Innovations
Audible
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 October 2018
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You can binge all episodes of American Innovations exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts
By the middle of the last century Americans lived in fear of one disease: polio. The story of the polio vaccine is not just a scientific story- it’s a political and financial one, too. One that would pave the way for medical research fundraising campaigns that followed.
You can binge all episodes of American Innovations exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to an episode of a Wondery Plus exclusive series. |
| 0:03.6 | To continue listening, join Wondery Plus and enjoy Ad Free Listening to over 40,000 episodes, |
| 0:08.9 | early access to your favorite podcasts and more. |
| 0:11.6 | Find Wondery Plus in the Wundery app or on Apple |
| 0:14.2 | podcasts. |
| 0:16.5 | It's an August afternoon in 1921. |
| 0:25.0 | And on Campobello Island off the southern coast of New Brunswick, |
| 0:30.0 | a doctor pays a visit to a large cottage. |
| 0:34.0 | Painted Auburn with emerald trim. |
| 0:36.5 | This cottage is the summer home of an American family |
| 0:39.9 | with one of the most recognized last names in the world. |
| 0:43.4 | Doctor, thank you for coming right this way. |
| 0:48.2 | The patient is 39 years old. |
| 0:51.8 | This is his home away from home, where he's been vacationing with his wife and |
| 0:55.8 | children. But now he's fallen sick. When did he first show symptoms? |
| 1:01.1 | Yesterday afternoon, he said he was starting to feel cold all over. |
| 1:04.6 | And this morning? This morning he has a terrible fever and there's something else. |
| 1:09.6 | Good morning sir. Now let's see what the problem is here. |
| 1:15.0 | The patient's temperature is extremely high, |
| 1:18.0 | but the doctor is confident. |
| 1:20.0 | This does look to me like a particularly nasty case of the flu. |
| 1:23.5 | With proper bed rest, I estimate you'll make a full recovery within a week. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audible, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Audible and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

