Episode 264: The Cutter incident - Part Two

It would start with a headache, a fever, maybe a funny tummy. But soon enough your knee would give out, or your arm would hang limp, or you would struggle to breathe. You'd be taken to the hospital, where you'd get your diagnosis - polio. If you survived, you ran the risk of doing so with paralyzed limbs, struggling to walk on bulky leg braces. Your parents would be terrified they might lose you, and so everybody wanted the one thing that could stop all of this - a vaccine. Videos: New England Journal of Medicine: The Cutter Incident, 50 Years Later American Experience: The Polio Crusade The Iron Lung and Polio by M.Rockoff | OPENPediatrics Articles and books: Polio: An American Story , by David M. Oshinsky The Cutter Incident, by Dr. Paul Offit NEJM: The Cutter Incident

You can listen to Episode 264: The Cutter incident - Part Two online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 264: The Cutter incident - Part Two is an episode from Disaster Area by Disaster Area.

This episode is 40:40 long.

This episode was published on May 1, 2026.

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