Infectious Historians

Natalie Porter (independent scholar) joins Merle and Lee to discuss her work on Avian Flu in Vietnam. Natalie begins with an explanation of what Avian (Bird) Flu is, alongside a survey of the culling that happens when epidemics occur among birds. Natalie explains how she came to work on this topic, and shares some of h

Bianca Lopez (Southern Methodist University) joins the Infectious Historians to discuss her recent book on plague, piety and power in late medieval Italy. Lopez begins with a survey of the impact of the Black Death and subsequent second pandemic outbreaks on Italy and moves on to talk about the specific area she studie

Xiaoping Fang (Monash University) comes on the podcast to discuss his recent book about cholera’s role in mid-20th century China. Fang begins by discussing cholera broadly before moving to focus on its role in China, primarily through examining it as a public health event. Although the mortality of the cholera epidemic

Einar Wigen (University of Oslo) joins the Infectious Historians to talk about the Ottoman experience of plague. The conversation begins with a reflection on the beginning and end of epidemics, as well as the purpose of such discussions - as people bestow importance upon epidemics. It then transitions to plague in the

Erica Charters (University of Oxford) comes on the podcast to discuss how pandemics end. Erica begins by pointing out that we tend to pay far less attention to the end of pandemics, reflecting on the ending of Covid in public discourse. Erica then discusses a large project she ran which brought together over 40 interna

Robert Zaretsky (University of Houston) joins the Infectious Historians to reflect on his experiences during Covid as he read “plague literature” and volunteered as an aide at a nursing home. The interview begins with Robert reflecting on his thinking during Covid and how he moved from reading history to literature. Th