It’s Been Phages!

Latest episodes

• HOTP Episode 4: The Twort-d'Herelle Controversy - When were bacteriophages first discovered?

  April 26, 2026 · 49 min

  Episode 4 of our series, “The History of Phage Therapy” and the first instalment of a three parter on the colossal Twort-d’Herelle Controversy. This controversy was a big deal at the time, and it really shook the trajectory of phage…

• HOTP Episode 3: The Discovery of Bacteriophage - The Tragicomedy of Fredrick Twort

  April 11, 2026 · 1 hr 0 min

  Who is Fredrick Twort? Well that was exactly the question on Felix d'Herelle's mind in 1921! After publishing his discovery of bacteriophage in 1917, d'Herelle was riding high for a few years until it was revealed that an English scientist…

• HOTP Episode 2: The Discovery of Bacteriophage* - A Chicken, a Canadian and a Coliphage walk into a Barn

  March 22, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min

  In 1915, as World War One raged, Felix d'Herelle was sent to investigate an awful outbreak of dysentery on the outskirts of Paris. From this, he would finally have his fateful encounter with bacteriophage. After publishing his paper "On…

• HOTP Episode 1: Felix d'Herelle - The Phagefather

  March 1, 2026 · 40 min

  In today's episode we introduce the arguably most important figure in the history of phage therapy: Felix d'Herelle. Felix d'Herelle would go on to discover* bacteriophages in 1917 just as the Great War was beginning to wind down. In this…

• Episode 0: What is a phage? - The Biology Behind The (Not-so-quite) Living Medicine

  February 19, 2026 · 24 min

  The very first episode in a coming series on the history of phage therapy and research. To make sure all future listeners are on an equal footing, I thought it was a good idea to introduce the very basics of bacteriophage biology. Give…

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