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iHeartMedia has teamed up with School of Humans to launch “Long Shot,” a new original podcast that examines the history and 250-year journey to the COVID-19 vaccines. The first episode drops August 4.
Hosted by Shaun Raviv, a journalist who has written for top publications including Wired, The Intercept, BuzzFeed, The Ringer, Smithsonian, Deadspin and The Washington Post, “Long Shot” examines the long history of research and trials that led to the COVID-19 vaccines being developed in record time. The true story of the COVID-19 vaccines goes back hundreds of years, and “Long Shot” will draw a throughline from today’s research back in time to the first inoculators.
While a universal pandemic may be unprecedented in our lifetimes, this podcast discusses how our history has been shaped by plagues, pandemics, viruses and diseases, and the fight against them. In the debut episode, Raviv explores the myths and legends of early inoculators dating back to 11th-century China, and speaks with evolutionary biologists Joel Wertheim and Edward Holmes. Listeners will learn the origins of inoculation and RNA-based viruses, which evolved side by side with our species.
Throughout the season, Raviv will sit down with various medical research experts and influential figures including: Paul Offit, who created a rotavirus vaccine; Jason McLellan, who was fundamental to creating today’s COVID-19 vaccines; the founders of Moderna; the daughter of a scientist whose own cells were used as the basis of vaccines; and participants in a human challenge trial, among many others.