Patient Zero

The greatest mysteries all have a shadowy figure at the center -- someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the rest of the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero -- the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, Radiolab hunts for Patient Zeroes from all over the map, from the origins of a blues legend to the history of the high five, to a race to halt the spread of a deadly disease.

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