Episode 35 – Ancient Malaria with David Pickel
David Pickel (Stanford University) discusses malaria in the ancient world with a focus on Roman Italy.
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!
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 Episodes
Episode 34 – Vaccinations in China with Mary Augusta Brazelton
Mary Brazelton (University of Cambridge) comes on the podcast to discuss vaccinations in China during the 20th century.
Episode 33 – Syphilis and Sexual Health in the United States (1890-1940) with Elliott Bowen
Elliott Bowen (Nazarbayev University) discusses syphilis and sexual health in Hot Springs, Arkansas with Merle and Lee
Episode 32 – Typhoid Fever and Epidemiology in Victorian England with Jacob Steere-Williams
Jacob Steere-Williams (College of Charleston) talks to Lee and Merle about typhoid fever and the development of epidemiology as a field of study.
Episode 31 – Indigenous Perceptions of Disease: Smallpox in Mexico with Tara Malanga
Tara Malanga (Rutgers University) joins Merle and Lee to discuss indigenous perceptions of disease in the context of post-Contact Mexico.
Episode 30 – Smallpox, Slavery, and Vaccinations with Elise Mitchell
Elise Mitchell (NYU) talks about her work on smallpox vaccinations and forced inoculations for enslaved people in the Caribbean during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Episode 29 – Vaccinations and anti-Vaxxers with Jim Harris
Jim Harris (Ohio State University) discusses the development of vaccinations and anti-vaccination sentiments since the 18th century.
Episode 28 – The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt with Michael Vann
Michael Vann (California State University, Sacramento) joins Merle and Lee to talk about the rat hunt following a plague outbreak in colonial Vietnam.
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…