The Smell of Hell

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Matt Kielty (1:46)

Wait, you're listening? Okay. Alright.

You're listening to Radiolab, from WNYC.

Molly Webster (2:03)

Hey, I'm Molly Webster.

Matt Kielty (2:04)

I'm Matt Kielty.

Molly Webster (2:05)

This is Radiolab.

Matt Kielty (2:06)

And I have a cold.

Molly Webster (2:07)

And I don't know what we're doing.

Matt Kielty (2:08)

Well, come along, Molly. You're in for quite a treat.

So, a little while back.

SPEAKER_6 (2:13)

Now, let's get this thing started.

Avir Mitra (2:14)

Who is ready for Radiolab?

Matt Kielty (2:17)

Avere, Dr. Avir Mitra.

Molly Webster (2:19)

Doctor of Radiolab, yeah.

Matt Kielty (2:21)

Yeah, regular correspondent. A little while back, we went to Boston.

SPEAKER_8 (2:24)

Hello, everybody.

Matt Kielty (2:25)

Did a live show there at WBR at CitySpace.

Avir Mitra (2:29)

And I'm Avir Mitra, Radiolab correspondent.

Matt Kielty (2:31)

They're very cool, big performance space.

Molly Webster (2:34)

Got it.

Matt Kielty (2:35)

Thank you all for coming out for our live taping of our Radiolab series, Viscera, Gripping Tales from the Body.

Avir Mitra (2:42)

Yes.

Matt Kielty (2:43)

And it's a show about one single element.

Molly Webster (2:47)

Like on the periodic table element.

Matt Kielty (2:49)

Yes, exactly. An element that is going to be the theme of our show tonight. I'm not going to tell you what it is, John.

But that element, it's one of these things that when Avir and I start talking about doing this, we realize it is one of the most underappreciated, kind of forgotten elements.

Avir Mitra (3:02)

Underrated.

Matt Kielty (3:03)

Underrated. That most people just associate with like disgusting, gross, awful, smelly things.

Molly Webster (3:09)

OK.

Matt Kielty (3:09)

We're going to do a few stories to hopefully show you that this is an element that can induce vomiting, that in fact it is a beautiful, beautiful, incredible thing that might be vital to our existence here on Earth. So, Molly, today I thought what we would do is I would play for you this Boston show.

Molly Webster (3:30)

OK.

Matt Kielty (3:30)

And just because I think it's like a pretty cool collection of stories that basically shine a spotlight on this overlooked, maligned element.

Molly Webster (3:38)

A maligned element that makes me vom. Let's get it.

Matt Kielty (3:43)

Fantastic. All right. Let's begin. So we're going to begin with a little mystery story.

Avir Mitra (3:50)

Yeah, that's right.

Matt Kielty (3:51)

If I didn't mention it before, Avir is an ER doctor. Yeah.

Avir Mitra (3:55)

So, you know, as an ER doctor, the question I get pretty much anytime I'm in a group setting is like, dude, what's the craziest thing you've ever seen in the ER?

So I'm almost trying to think of answers. But, you know, since I hugely respect patient privacy, HIPAA, and my retirement savings account, I'm not going to tell you the craziest thing I've seen. But I think I've found the craziest thing that's happened in an ER like ever. Do you guys want to hear that story?

All right, here we go. So this story starts February 19th, 1994 in an ER in Riverside, California.

A patient shows up by the name of Gloria Ramirez, a young woman. She's just 31 years old, mother of two. And she had just been diagnosed with metastatic cancer, hadn't even started treatment yet. So she arrives in the ER and she's delirious. She's sweaty. She looks so sick and her vital signs are crashing.