Episode 43 – Ebola Outbreaks in West Africa with Adia Benton
Adia Benton (Northwestern University) discusses the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak and why Ebola, as a charismatic disease, has such a powerful hold over our imagination.
Infectious Historians
Thanks for stopping by our website! We encourage you to listen to our podcast episodes, where we’ve included further information and readings on the topic. Feel free to check our blog, with posts written by ourselves as well as our guests to the podcast. You can find more information on infamous historical pandemics in the Further Reading tab. We’d love to hear more from you – feedback on previous episodes, suggestions for future episodes, or questions about specific historical pandemics. Let’s stay in touch!
Lukas Engelmann (University of Edinburgh) discusses his work on the history of epidemiology and epidemiological models with Merle and Lee.
Recent Episodes
Episode 42- The Age of Pandemics in India and the World with Chinmay Tumbe
Chinmay Tumbe (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad) discusses his new book, The Age of Pandemics, that focuses on the cholera, plague, and the 1918 Influenza pandemics in India.
Episode 41 – The Justinianic Plague and the Making of the Plague Concept
Merle and Lee discuss a recent article that they wrote on the Justinianic Plague that has been published, and tie it to some of the discussions they’ve had on the…
Episode 40 – Forgetting and Remembering the 1918 Influenza Pandemic with Guy Beiner
Guy Beiner (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) discusses how people and societies have forgotten and remembered the 1918 Influenza Pandemic over the last century.
Episode 39 – Environmental History: Past, Present, and Future with John McNeill
John McNeill (Georgetown University) discusses the state of the field of environmental history including its development, what it looks like now, and where it might be going.
Episode 38 – Animals and Epidemics with Susan Jones
Susan Jones (University of Minnesota) discusses the key role of animals in the spread of diseases and the outbreak of epidemics, focusing on plague in Soviet Central Asia.
Episode 37 – The Local Effects of Covid in Kansas City with A.J. Herrmann
A.J. Herrmann (Director of Policy for Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, Missouri) talks about how he helped develop and implement Covid policies for Kansas City and the responses and…
Episode 36 – Epidemics, the Media, and Collective Memory with Katie Foss
Katie Foss (Middle Tennessee State University) talks about her recent work on the role of the media in shaping how we think and remember epidemics in U.S. history.
Recent Posts
COVID-19 mortality
The media visibility of COVID-19 mortality Lee Mordechai / April 13, 2020 The current pandemic, like other disasters, reveals much about the workings of different societies. Mortality – the most…
Responses to a Pandemic: Past and Present
Responses to a Pandemic: Past and Present Abigail Agresta / April 9, 2020 “…Some people were of the opinion that a sober and abstemious mode of living considerably reduced the…
Quarantine in the 19th Century Mediterranean and Self-Isolation Today
Quarantine in the 19th Century Mediterranean and Self-Isolation Today Alex Chase-Levenson / April 3, 2020 Quarantines, in response to epidemic disease, were first set up in the wake of…
Gardening, Baking, and Cooking
Gardening, Baking, and Cooking Merle Eisenberg / March 30, 2020 I wanted to start off on a lighter note for this first blog post as a way to introduce you…