Infectious Historians InfectiousHistorians

Jason Opal (McGill University) joins the Infectious Historians. Jason begins by discussing the massive impact of disease on the Americas between the 15th and 18th centuries, while also acknowledging the realization of this history in the 1970s. He also touches upon the concept of “virgin soil” epidemics. The second part of the episode focuses on inoculation against smallpox in Europe, the colonies and elsewhere. Jason discusses how inoculation was done and the different ways in which it was adopted. He also touches upon the relevance of measles to this story. The last part of the interview discusses teaching epidemics, as Jason shares with Merle and Lee how he teaches disease.

Neeraja Sankaran (National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR) and Stephen Weldon (University of Oklahoma) join the Infectious Historians to discuss a recent special journal issue they edited. The issue includes many studies about histories of disease, pandemics and their impact around the world and across time, and reflections on how people have studies these events in the past. Neeraja and Stephen begin by telling the story of how they decided to put out the special issue, and reflect on some of their early choices and how those determined the shape of the final outcome. They discuss the question of how to measure the impact of this issue, and share how the editing work has influenced their own thinking on these issues. The conversation then moves on to discuss teaching courses on pandemics, before wrapping up with another reflection, this time on the impacts of Covid on how people write about disease. 

Arafaat Valiani (University of Oregon) has a conversation with the Infectious Historians about genomic and genetic research with indigenous communities. Arafaat goes over what is genomic research, then describes how tests work and the bioethical debate surrounding them. He describes some of the different approaches among biomedical researchers that approach marginalized communities. The conversation moves on to discuss some of the practicalities of working with and within these communities, followed by a reflection about whether other communities should adopt similar practices as well. The interview finishes with a discussion of the role of AI within genomic research.

Keith Pluymers (Illinois State University) comes on the show to talk about his work on late 18th century Philadelphia in the context of yellow fever and climate. After the introductory remarks and the personal updates, Keith begins with a discussion of the Anthropocene and its broader relevance as well as its connection to his field of studies. He continues to discuss climate and disease in the New World, as well as in the context of how science and empirical measurements were done in the past. Keith provides several examples that demonstrate how 18th century people believed they could exert some influence over the weather, atmosphere or even climate. This then ties into the yellow fever discussion, which he contextualizes within the broader discourse in Philadelphia but also broader trans-Atlantic discourse.

Robert Alpert (Fordham University) joins the Infectious Historians to discuss the book they wrote together on disease in film. The conversation begins with a survey of the book and its argument. The three co-authors speak about the movies that are covered in the book, reflect upon the experience of co-writing a book (and its troubles) alongside each author’s contribution to the trio, and expand the book’s argument and some of its chapters - especially the chapters on the five remakes of the Body Snatcher movies and the six movies of the Resident Evil franchise. The three authors mention some of the movies they have covered in the book, as well as discuss how Covid changed the book. The episode ends off with a special reveal(!).

Michelle Smirnova (University of Missouri-Kansas City) returns to the podcast to discuss her new book on drugs and prison in the United States, The Prescription to Prison Pipeline.The interview begins with a discussion of medicalization, and then generally follows the title of her book. The first part focuses on prescription drugs, touching also on subjects such as biomedicalization. The opioid epidemic and the so-called War on Drugs are linked to imprisonment in the United States. Finally, the pipline section reflects upon structural issues that link drugs to imprisonment. Michelle also discusses some of the ethical concerns in working with incarcerated individuals.