Thirty million red blood cells circulate twelve thousand miles in a never ceasing loop through our bodies every day. Our blood has to keep moving in order to perfuse every organ and vessel necessary to keep us alive. Nothing in our body works without the constant presence and movement of our blood. Yet, few of us think about our blood until we see a few drops trickle from a cut. Then, we're horrified by it.
But blood is more than just an engine for life. Women are shamed globally for the blood they shed every month. Others are marked as carriers of the diseases that blood can carry. Blood can save us, kill us, identify us, disgust us, divide us. It's complicated.
Also this hour: We think of Dracula when we think of vampires. But a modern vampire can be living next door to you and you probably wouldn't know it. We talk about vampirism.
Lastly, blood has kind of a twisted history in movies. How do they make the blood look so real?
GUESTS:
- Rose George: Journalist and the author of most recently, Nine Pints: A Journey Through The Money, Medicine, And Mysteries Of Blood (@rosegeorge3)
- Michelle Belanger - Writer, poet, occult expert and author of several books including The Psychic Vampire Codex: A Manual of Magic and Energy Work. Michelle identifies as a psychic vampire
- Forrest Wickman - Culture editor at Slate (@ForrestW)
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Colin McEnroe, Philip Gialopsos and Chion Wolf contributed to this show
