You and Betty and the nancy's and Bill's and Joes and Jane's will find in the study of science

a richer, more rewarding life.

Hey, welcome to Inquiring Minds. I'm Indravis Gontas.

This is a podcast that explores the space where science and society collide.

We want to find out what's true, what's left to discover,

and why it matters. You might be under the impression that allergies are on the rise. It's very

common now for certain foods to be banned from school

cafeterias or for people to talk about how they're having an intolerance or an allergy to a

specific food or type of plant. And it does seem that in an era in which we're so sensitive

to any kind of respiratory symptoms, that

understanding what's an allergy and what's a cold is becoming more and more important.

And if you have noticed this upward trend, you're not wrong. So what is it about our current

world that is making us more prone to suffer from allergies? To help us answer that question, we're going to talk to Teresa McPhail.

She's a medical anthropologist, former journalist, an associate professor of science and technology

studies who researches and writes about global health.

And she's recently written a book called Allergic, Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.

Teresa McPhail, welcome to Inquiring Minds.

Hi, great being here.

So I have to admit that it's been challenging for me to sit down and motivate to read your book.

And that's because I recently spoke to Alden Wicker,

who talks about toxic fashion, about how, you know, our clothes are killing us. I have kids who

have asthma and allergies, and like, it just feels so overwhelming to think that there are things

...