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Science journalist Tom Zeller Jr. has suffered from debilitating cluster headaches for three decades. Like other cluster headache sufferers, his episodes would leave him unable to function, and the fear of the next one happening was constant. In a quest to better understand his own condition, Zeller learned that headaches remain a great neurological mystery, with basic mechanisms behind why they happen still unknown. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about his new book, The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction – and a Search for Relief.
Further Reading
- Why Do Headaches Feel So Different From Other Kinds of Pain?, an article adapted from Tom Zeller Jr.’s The Headache via Undark
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Segment Guests
Tom Zeller Jr.
Tom Zeller Jr. is an American journalist, former New York Times reporter and columnist, and current editor in chief of the digital science magazine Undark.
Segment Transcript
The transcript is being processed. It will be available 2-3 days after this story’s publication date.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Kathleen Davis
Kathleen Davis is a producer and fill-in host at Science Friday, which means she spends her weeks researching, writing, editing, and sometimes talking into a microphone. She’s always eager to talk about freshwater lakes and Coney Island diners.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.