Random Things That Can Kill You #127

Hurricane Irene interfered with our plans to interview science writer and blogger Carl Zimmer about his new book A Planet of Viruses. Instead, we talked hurricanes with Shaun Tanner, head of Meteorological Operations at the weather science resource site, Weather Underground. We also spoke to journalist Maryn McKenna about her book Superbug: The Fatal Menance of MRSA, to find out what makes antibiotic-resistant staph so scary, and what researchers are trying to do about it. Once we realized we had a “scary death” theme going, we thought it would it be a good idea to revisit our interview with Barry Glassner, author of The Culture of Fear, just to avoid getting too hyperbolic.