Poisons and Pestilence

44 Movie Review Special: Cold Storage with Conor Browne

Trailer Rights;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kea7gnh1uYA

43 Bonus Episode Major Tom and the Secret M-Device with Brian Tasman-Davies

In this episode we return to the history of the M-Device with Brian Tasman-Davies You can check out the book here: Major Tom and the secret ‘M’ device – Brian's historical adventure books We also did a previous episode on this topic with Simon Jones: 13 Bonus Episode: The M Device with Simon Jones Music rights: "Яблочко" (Little Apple) - Russian Folk Song - YouTube

42: Manchineel Sugar

In this episode we examine the earliest reference to poison arrows in accounts of European expeditions to the Americas in the 15th Century. This is the first part of a study which runs up untill around 1700. You can check out the show notes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

Update July 2025

41 Bonus Episode: Poisoned Weapons with Reid Kirby

Reid Kirby will be publishing his book in June. Follow him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rkirby/ Media Credits: ABC news. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-jA96JgD9U

40 Bonus Episode: From Loos to Livens with Jessica Morris

In this episode Jessica Morris discusses her work on the evolution of British Gas Strategy during WW1.

39 Bonus Episode: Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons with Jerry Smith

In this episode I discuss operational aspects of the destruction of declared Syrian CW stocks - with Jerry Smith. Recorded November 2024.

38 Bonus Episode: Clouds over the Hague with Jean Pascal Zanders

You can check our more of Dr Zander's work over at The Trench – Challenging entrenched positions - Jean Pascal Zanders

37: Arsenic Aria

This episode examines poisoning renaissance Italy You can check out the show notes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

36 Bonus Episode: Have you got your gas mask? with Nathan Hazlehurst

In this episode Nathan discusses WW2 ARP preparations for gas attacks on civilian centres. Media source: Have Your Gas Masks With You (1941-1946) (youtube.com) I do not own the rights to this clip, used under fair usage.

35 Bonus Episode: 'Back to Source ' with Seth Carus

In this bonus episode I am joined by Seth Carus, as we explore some of the earliest allegations of biological warfare- as well as the more recent modern developments, which transformed ancient fears, into Cold War era weapon systems. Do check out these two studies, I think they are great: Carus, W. Seth. "The history of biological weapons use: what we know and what we don't." Health security 13.4 (2015): 219-255. Carus, W. Seth. "A century of biological-weapons programs (1915–2015): reviewing the evidence." The Nonproliferation Review 24.1-2 (2017): 129-153. And also thanks to Adrienne Mayor, who drew my attention to this work on the Caffa siege, and recent work on the spread of the Black Death in the 14th century more broadly. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/711596 https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:50220/datastreams/CONTENT/content https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(20)30176-2/fulltext N.B my remarks on the ability of scientists to produce anthrax spores for the German programme in WW1 reliably has sparked some discussion. And I will return to this. Essentially, it is not currently clear if either purified / extracted/dried spores were employed- or else some form of wet suspension. The latter, which would have likely contained a mix of (likely denatured) vegetative b. anthracis and spores. Or else some form of purified spore suspension. I know right?

34 Bonus Episode: Experience of a Porton Down Test Veteran with Ian Foulkes

In this episode I talk about Ian's experience as a Porton Down research volunteer as a serviceman during the 1980's. Ian is eager to contact other former veterans - please email be directly at Bwie20[@]bath.ac.uk. The most substantive publicly available report on this subject, which we are aware of, is published here: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Defence Internet | About Defence | Historical Survey of the Porton Down Servce Vounteer Programme 1939-1989 (nationalarchives.gov.uk) You can also find details of the cohort medical study here: The Porton Down Veterans Cohort Study | King's College London (kcl.ac.uk)

33 Bonus Episode: Bio-threats ain't what they used to be (or are they?) with Michael Parker

In this episode we look at the history of bio-threat assessment. With a review provided by Michael Parker, who has collated a list of threat assessments produced over the past century. You can find further details on the project here! Do check it out! https://cobrabiosecurity.org/ Further reading: Sequence-Based Classification of Select Agents A BRIGHTER LINE Committee on Scientific Milestones for the Development of a Gene Sequence-Based Classification System for the Oversight of Select Agents National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Sequence-Based Classification of Select Agents: A Brighter Line. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12970. The Select Agent Regulations: Structure and Stricture Shreya Kalra ▸Michael Parker (2022) The Select Agent Regulations: Structure and Stricture | Georgetown Scientific Research Journal (gsrjournal.org) Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run. Michael Parker Shreya Kalra and Bryce Kassalow (2022) Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens | The Scientist Magazine® (the-scientist.com) Comment from Parker, Michael Posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan 19, (2022) Regulations.gov Improving U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity: Revisiting Recommendations from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel and the Fast Track Action Committee on Select Agent Regulations Authors: Clint A. Haines and Gigi Kwik Gronvall (2022) Improving U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity: Revisiting Recommendations from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel and the Fast Track Action Committee on Select Agent Regulations | Applied Biosafety (liebertpub.com)

32 Bonus Episode: History of Czechoslovak Gas Masks with Andrej Boron

Find Andrej's work over at: https://www.youtube.com/@cbrnacademy And the video is available here https://youtu.be/Xf3vW3pWIm8?si=-Mpz5eNteHG61o84

31 Movie Review: The Omega Man with Conor Browne

All clips are from the following trailers. Used under fair usage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWlNe1-5wb8&t=9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWB6Ufh4O98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtKMEAXyPkg&t=25s

30 Bonus Episode: Why do bugs go bad?

In this episode I discuss pathogens, as well as security screening in the gene synthesis industry- with someone who isn't that sectors namesake- but has done a lot of work relevant to it: Gene Godbold, from Signature Science LLC.

29 Movie Review Special: The Expanse with Emily Ricotta

Another movie special ! The expanse- and the space fungus hypothesis! With Dr Emily Ricotta. https://www.emilyricotta.com/ I do not own the right to the trailer, which is used under normal critique and review exemptions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0QwBp_da28

28 Movie Review Special: Fallout with Gwyn Winfield

In this movie review special Gwyn Winfield discusses the series 'Fallout'- and touch on the depiction of the environmental effects of nuclear weapons- among other things. Fallout is available on Prime Video. Gwyn's magazine: https://cbrneworld.com/ Trailer audio used under fair usage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZwLYEVUK8 (Prime Video).

27 Bonus Episode: The Sulphurous Schemes of Lord Dundonald

In this episode we examine some 19th century chemical warfare plans, which were a prelude to the first large scale use of gas warfare in WW1. Book link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Admirals-Secret-Weapon-Dundonald-Stephenson/dp/B017AJTSBU

26 Bonus Episode: Mustard and the Fascist Way of War with Charles Stephenson

In this episode, I am joined by Charles Stephenson, who discusses the use of chemical weapons by Italian invaders in the war against Ethiopia in the campaign of 1935-6. You can find the book he recently published on this topic here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mussolini-Mustard-Gas-Fascist-Way/dp/1399051660