Smarty Pants Podcast

Positively Sweaty

Why perspiration is the essence of life

By Stephanie Bastek | July 23, 2021
Flickr/kozumel
Flickr/kozumel

Love it or hate it, sweat is the reason why you don’t die of heatstroke in the summer—though you might want to die of embarrassment if you work up too much of it. But perspiration also contains a trove of secrets about our body’s inner workings, from sexy pheromones and disease markers to what we had for lunch. In her new book, The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration, science journalist Sarah Everts explores what it reveals about our biology and behavior, debunking overheated myths—and maybe even some stigma—along the way.

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