As we get close to the end of the year there is no shortage of lists of the “best of the year” and even this year the “best of the decade”. But when it comes to podcasts it would be hard to think of a better one than “Bad Batch”. It’s part stem cell research, part medical mystery and altogether engrossing.

It’s the work of Laura Beil, an award-winning journalist who follows the trail of a stem cell therapy that was supposed to help patients but instead left them battling life-threatening infections. It highlights how some clinics are able to find loopholes in the law that allow them to offer unproven and unapproved therapies, and how those therapies can put people’s lives at risk.

We have written about the dangers of predatory stem cell clinics several times, but in “Bad Batch” you get to hear the voices of the people affected, and ultimately the people responsible. It’s great journalism and fascinating story telling. And it’s a reminder of the work that needs to be done to stop this ever happening again.