EPISODE · Dec 10, 2025 · 39 MIN
A Mold with a Grudge
from Sidedoor · host Smithsonian Institution
It started with a messy lab and a mysterious mold. But turning “mold juice” into the world’s first antibiotic would take a sick policeman, a market cantaloupe, and an extraordinary wartime collaboration between scientists, governments, and industry. This is the story of how penicillin changed the world.Guests:Kevin Brown, Trust Archivist to Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and curator of the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum at St. Mary’s Hospital; author of Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic RevolutionDiane Wendt, curator in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
What this episode covers
It started with a messy lab and a mysterious mold. But turning “mold juice” into the world’s first antibiotic would take a sick policeman, a market cantaloupe, and an extraordinary wartime collaboration between scientists, governments, and industry. This is the story of how penicillin changed the world. Guests: Kevin Brown, Trust Archivist to Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and curator of the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum at St. Mary’s Hospital; author of Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution Diane Wendt, curator in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
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A Mold with a Grudge
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