The podcast episodes cover various aspects of disease transmission, including the identification of infectious diseases like AIDS, the role of mosquitoes as vectors, and the risks of transmission between humans and wildlife.

For example, the episode The First Scientific Report on the AIDS Epidemic discusses how recognizing AIDS as a blood-borne, sexually transmitted disease was crucial to tracing its spread, while the episode Culicidology (MOSQUITOES) Part 1 with Fhallon Ware-Gilmore explores the role of mosquitoes as vectors for transmitting diseases.

Another episode, The Well-Connected Animal, with Lee Alan Dugatkin, examines how the social networks of animals like Tasmanian devils can facilitate the transmission of diseases, and the episode The Arrest of Typhoid Mary discusses how asymptomatic carriers can spread illnesses like typhoid fever.