Since the World's been Turning
This podcast series is a journey through history, one guided by the lyrics of Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire". Join us for an educational and fun exploration of the events, people, and inventions that helped to shape the modern world during the Cold War. These roughly half-hour episodes place a microscope on each of Billy Joel’s lyrics, discovering the rich detail that helps breathe life into the past. Narrated by Robin Harrison, each episode also features interviews with guest speakers, including experts in the field and friends and family of the people being discussed. Together, we’ll learn why Billy Joel wrote the lyrics he did and hopefully come to understand what he meant when he sang “We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning, since the world’s been turning.”
Since the World's been Turning
Episode 115 - Hypodermics on the shore
In this episode, we’re heading to America’s Atlantic Coast, circa 1987. People are fleeing the beaches, and it’s not because of sharks. To the horror of both tourists and residents alike, the coasts of New York City, Long Island, and the Jersey Shore have been covered in medical waste. Hypodermic syringes, to be specific.
To help us with this episode is our guest, Jeremy Greene. Jeremy is a historian of medicine, and the director of the history of medicine department at Johns Hopkins University.
He’s also the author of Hypodermics on the Shore, a brilliant article published in the Atlantic which we highly recommend.