This episode first aired in 2019.
A terminal cancer patient rises from the grave. A medical marvel defies HIV. Two women with autoimmunity discover their own bodies have turned against them. Matt Richtel's "An Elegant Defense" entwines these intimate stories with science's centuries-long quest to unlock the mysteries of sickness and health, and illuminates the immune system as never before.
The immune system is our body's essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition — hallmarks of modern life.
Matt Richtel is a health and science reporter at the New York Times. He spent nearly two years reporting on the teenage mental health crisis for the paper’s acclaimed multipart series "Inner Pandemic," which won first place in public-health reporting from the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism and inspired his book "How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence."
He received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series of articles about distracted driving, which he expanded into his first nonfiction book, "A Deadly Wandering," a New York Times bestseller. His second nonfiction book, "An Elegant Defense," on the human immune system, was a national bestseller and chosen by Bill Gates for his annual Summer Reading List.
This program is part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils in partnership with the Pulitzer Prizes Board for a collaboration between UPR, Utah Humanities, The Salt Lake Tribune, and The Salt Lake City Library. The initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry.
The “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
