The Real Bubble Boy who Helped Cure a Rare Disorder episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 13, 2026 · 33 MIN

The Real Bubble Boy who Helped Cure a Rare Disorder

from History and Hearsay · host Christina

In today's episode of History and Hearsay, we are discussing David Vetters incredible life and how he contributed to finding a cure for a deadly disease. Timestamps:0:00 - Intro 0:24 - The Vetter Family6:19 - Life Inside The Bubble 12:26 - Effects of living in a bubble16:57 - The Ethics22:06 - Media Attention24:18 - SCID Research25:32 - Katherine27:06 - Possible Treatment 29:09 - David’s Legacy32:14 - Later Years►Sources:Video that shows the bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hu0NttFjhU&t=147s His mom on what would have been his 50th birthday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctPQbf2Tstg https://historycollection.com/the-real-bubble-boy-helped-cure-a-rare-disorder/#-span-style-font-weight-400-the-birth-of-the-bubble-boy-span- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bubble-david-vetters-parents/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/boy-bubble/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 13, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

The Real Bubble Boy who Helped Cure a Rare Disorder

0:00 33:13

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of History and Hearsay?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this History and Hearsay episode published?

This episode was published on March 13, 2026.

Can I download this History and Hearsay episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!