Throughline

The dramatic race to discover Insulin

October 22, 2026·37 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Looksmaxxing, weight loss, and muscle building have fueled a massive craze for injectable peptides. Some natural and some synthetic. These injectables have unleashed a multi-billion-dollar gray-market industry online and a high-stakes frontier for the pharmaceutical industry. Today, we reach back to the quest to manufacture the first peptide-based medicine: Insulin.Guests:Alison Li, historian of science and medicine, author of J. B. Collip and the Development of Medical Research in Canada: Extracts and EnterpriseGrant Maltman, curator of Banting House National Historic SiteSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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