Ebola Outbreaks in West Africa with Adia Benton
Episode 43 - January 7, 2021
Adia Benton (Northwestern University) talks to Merle and Lee about the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014 and why that disease in particular has terrified Western audiences since the late 20th century. After discussing the basics on what Ebola is, where it was discovered, and where it is found today, Adia expands upon its recent large outbreak in West Africa. She then examines why so little time was spent on caring for people who got sick with it and why Ebola has such a powerful sway over popular imagination. She then outlines what she calls racial immuno-logic before reflecting on Ebola and Covid at the end of the episode.
Further Reading
- Adia Benton, “The Not-So-Secret-Serum,” Dissent, August 16, 2014.
- Adia Benton, “What’s the Matter Boss, We Sick?” The New Inquiry, December 11, 2014.
- Adia Benton, “The Words are Maps: Two years after an outbreak devastated Sierra Leone, an anthropologist returns to the country in search of a rumored Ebola museum,” World Policy Journal 34.4 (2017), 76-86.
Our Guest
Adia Benton,
Northwestern University.
