The dramatic race to discover Insulin
Podcast: ThroughlinePublished On: Thu Oct 22 2026
Description: 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
The note was deleted
The note was saved
Your message was sent