As she pulled a wiggling, 3-inch worm from her patient’s brain, Australian neurosurgeon Hari Priya Bandi could hardly believe the sight before her.

“It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie,” said Dr. Adler R. Dillman – a professor of Parasitology and chair of the Department of Nematology at University of California, Riverside – referencing news stories about the worm. He joined the “Something Offbeat” podcast this week to talk about the shocking discovery, what it has to do with our diets, and to share some insight that might help us get over our fears around parasites.