The Big Middle

Sam Apple

Episode Summary

The extraordinary story of Nobel biochemist Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and how some cancer cells eat

Episode Notes

I’ve spent the past few days devouring Ravenous, a cracker of a science thriller written by my guest Sam Apple, who teaches science and creative writing to Masters of Arts students at Johns Hopkins.

We learn about the life and work of biochemist Otto Warburg, the German-Jewish Nobel laureate who first proposed cancer as a metabolic disease. 

And we learn how the diet-cancer connection is now at the forefront of cancer research. 

This book has blockbuster movie written all over it - a gripping weave of history and science centred around an eccentric genius. 

Enjoy learning why!

Links

• Sam's Johns Hopkins bio
• Buy Sam's book Ravenous
• Sam's piece in Wired on podcast alum Nir Barzilai's groundbreaking work on metformin: Forget the blood of teens, This pill promises to extend life for a nickel a pop
• Sam on Twitter

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• Hosted + produced by Susan Flory
• Music: “Beautiful Day” by Sahin Koc