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'The Economist' Imagines A World Without Antibiotics

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Bottles of antibiotics line a shelf at a Publix supermarket pharmacy August 7, 2007 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Bottles of antibiotics line a shelf at a Publix supermarket pharmacy August 7, 2007 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

We all know that antibiotics lose their effectiveness as bacteria become resistant. And yet, they are overused, which hastens that ineffectiveness. But what if we had no antibiotics at all? Here & Now's Robin Young talks to The Economist magazine's "The World If" series editor Tom Standage (@tomstandage) about a world without antibiotics.

This segment aired on July 25, 2019.

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