Let Them Eat Dirt #536

September 27, 2019

This week on Science for the People, we're discussing how the gut microbiome is shaped by experiences and circumstances during early childhood. We'll be speaking with Dr. Bretty Finlay, co-author of "Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World", about everything from C-sections to widespread antibiotic resistance to using probiotics to treat diseases. Things are about to get messy!

Related links:

This episode is hosted by Anika Hazra.

Guests:

  • Brett Finlay
Listen Now

Featured Book

Let Them Eat Dirt

Written by Brett Finlay, Marie-Claire Arrieta

Book Blurb Find On Amazon

Guest Bios

Brett Finlay

Brett Finlay is the Distinguished Peter Wall Professor of Microbiology in the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He has published over 500 papers describing how microbes affect human health and disease.He is the author of two books, "Let Them Eat Dirt" and "The Whole Body Microbiome", that describe the effects of the microbiome on early childhood and healthy aging.

Other Episodes About Immunology

Coronavirus

It's everywhere, and it felt disingenuous for us here at Science for the People to avoid it, so here is our episode on Coronavirus. It's ok to give this one a skip... Read More

March 22, 2020

Vaccine Moonshot

We're still in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, and one of the things many of us are hoping for every day is more good news about a vaccine. What does the... Read More

November 09, 2020

A world of universal vaccines

It seems like no one vaccine is ever enough. COVID mutates and the vaccines fall short. A new flu vaccine every year, and each one different from the last. Wouldn't it be... Read More

September 12, 2022

Other Episodes About Medicine

Remaking the face

In 2022 it seems surgery can perform miracles. Plastic surgery in particular can reshape noses, jaws, and even transplant entire faces. But not so long ago, plastic surgery as a field didn't... Read More

June 07, 2022

Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent

Even the luckiest and healthiest of us will interact with the medical systems we live in eventually, and navigating these systems can be frustrating, scary, and intimidating. In this labyrinth filled with... Read More

August 03, 2022

A world of universal vaccines

It seems like no one vaccine is ever enough. COVID mutates and the vaccines fall short. A new flu vaccine every year, and each one different from the last. Wouldn't it be... Read More

September 12, 2022

Other Episodes About Biology

Our Friend, the Wasp

Is there an insect more universally despised than the wasp? What have they done to incur so much of our ire? No one likes them. Well... almost no one. Seirian Sumner, Professor... Read More

May 25, 2023

How birds go the distance

Birds carry out some of the most amazing feats of athleticism in the world. Hummingbirds cross the entire Gulf of Mexico, their tiny wings beating continuously for three days straight. A single... Read More

July 05, 2023

The Jewel Box

A lot of us learned basic ecology in primary school. Maybe we took a biology class in high school or secondary school and dug in a little more. We use terms like... Read More

July 31, 2023