EPIDEMIC with Dr. Celine Gounder

KFF Health News and JUST HUMAN PRODUCTIONS

Eradicating Smallpox: The Heroes that Wiped out a 3,000-Year-Old Virus One of humanity’s greatest triumphs is the eradication of smallpox. This new eight-episode docuseries, “Eradicating Smallpox,” explores this remarkable feat and uncovers striking parallels and contrasts to recent history in the shadows of the covid-19 pandemic. Host Céline Gounder brings decades of experience working on HIV in Brazil and South Africa, Ebola during the outbreak in New Guinea, and covid-19 in New York City at the height of the pandemic. She travels to India and Bangladesh to bring never-before-heard stories from the front lines of the battle to wipe smallpox off the face of the Earth. “Epidemic” launched in early 2020 and quickly became a key source of reporting on the rapidly unfolding coronavirus pandemic. The show premiered at No. 1 in health and fitness and No. 1 in medicine on the Apple Podcast charts.

  1. 07/11/2023

    S2E8 / The Scars of Smallpox

    In 1975, smallpox eradication workers in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, rushed to a village in the south of the country called Kuralia. They were abuzz and the journey was urgent because they thought they just might be going to document the very last case of variola major, a deadly strain of the virus.  When they arrived, they met a toddler, Rahima Banu. She did have smallpox, and five years later, in 1980, when the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated, Banu became a symbol of one of the greatest accomplishments in public health. That’s the lasting public legacy of Rahima Banu, the girl. Episode 8, the series finale of “Eradicating Smallpox,” is the story of Rahima Banu, the woman — and her life after smallpox. To meet with her, podcast host Céline Gounder traveled to Digholdi, Bangladesh, where Banu, her husband, their three daughters, and a son share a one-room bamboo-and-corrugated-metal home with a mud floor. Their finances are precarious. The family cannot afford good health care or to send their daughter to college. The public has largely forgotten Banu, while in her personal life, she faced prejudice from the local community because she had smallpox. Those negative attitudes followed her for decades after the virus was eradicated.  “I feel ashamed of my scars. People also felt disgusted,” Banu said, crying as she spoke through an interpreter.  Despite the hardship she’s faced, she is proud of her role in history, and that her children never had to live with the virus.  “It did not happen to anyone, and it will not happen,” she said. Voices From the Episode: Rahima Banu The last person in the world to have a naturally occurring case of the deadliest strain of smallpoxNazma Begum Rahima Banu’s daughterRafiqul Islam Rahima Banu’s husbandAlan Schnur Former World Health Organization smallpox eradication program worker in BangladeshFind a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions. To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to "Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    16 phút
  2. 24/10/2023

    S2E7 / What Good Is a Vaccine When There Is No Rice?

    The 1970s was the deadliest decade in the “entire history of Bangladesh,” said environmental historian Iftekhar Iqbal. A deadly cyclone, a bloody liberation war, and famine triggered waves of migration. As people moved throughout the country, smallpox spread with them. In Episode 7 of “Eradicating Smallpox,” Shohrab, a man who was displaced by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, shares his story. After fleeing the storm, he and his family settled in a makeshift community in Dhaka known as the Bhola basti. Smallpox was circulating there, but the deadly virus was not top of mind for Shohrab. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was more focused on issues like where would I work, what would I eat,” he said in Bengali. When people’s basic needs — like food and housing — aren’t met, it’s harder to reach public health goals, said Bangladeshi smallpox eradication worker Shahidul Haq Khan. He encountered that obstacle frequently as he traveled from community to community in southern Bangladesh. He said people asked him: “There's no rice in people's stomachs, so what is a vaccine going to do?” To conclude this episode, host Céline Gounder speaks with Sam Tsemberis, president and CEO of Pathways Housing First Institute. He said when public health meets people’s basic needs first, it gives them the best shot at health. In Conversation With Host Céline Gounder: Sam Tsemberis Founder, president, and CEO of Pathways Housing First Institute @SamTsemberisVoices From the Episode: Shohrab Resident of the Bhola basti in DhakaIftekhar Iqbal Associate professor of history at the Universiti Brunei DarussalamShahidul Haq Khan Former World Health Organization smallpox eradication program worker in BangladeshFind a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions. To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to "Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    19 phút
  3. 10/10/2023

    S2E6 / Bodies Remember What Was Done to Them

    Global fears of overpopulation in the ’60s and ’70s helped fuel India’s campaign to slow population growth. Health workers tasked to encourage family planning were dispatched throughout the country and millions of people were sterilized: some voluntarily, some for a monetary reward, and some through force.  This violent and coercive campaign — and the distrust it created — was a backdrop for the smallpox eradication campaign happening simultaneously in India. When smallpox eradication worker Chandrakant Pandav entered a community hoping to persuade people to accept the smallpox vaccine, he said he was often met with hesitancy and resistance. “People's bodies still remember what was done to them,” said medical historian Sanjoy Bhattacharya. Episode 6 of “Eradicating Smallpox” shares Pandav’s approach to mending damaged relationships. To gain informed consent, he sat with people, sang folk songs, and patiently answered questions, working both to rebuild broken trust and slow the spread of smallpox.  To conclude the episode, host Céline Gounder speaks with the director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations, Thomas Bollyky. He said public health resources might be better spent looking for ways to encourage cooperation in low-trust communities, rather than investing to rebuild trust.    In Conversation With Host Céline Gounder: Thomas Bollyky Director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations @TomBollykyVoices From the Episode: Chandrakant Pandav Community medicine physician and former World Health Organization smallpox eradication worker in India @pandavcs1Gyan Prakash Professor of history at Princeton University, specializing in the history of modern India @prakashzoneSanjoy Bhattacharya Medical historian and professor of medical and global health histories at the University of Leeds @joyagnost  Find a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions.   To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to “Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    21 phút
  4. 26/09/2023

    S2E5 / The Tata Way

    In spring 1974, over a dozen smallpox outbreaks sprang up throughout the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Determined to find the source of the cases, American smallpox eradication worker Larry Brilliant and a local partner, Zaffar Hussain, launched an investigation. The answer: Each outbreak could be traced back to Tatanagar, a city run by one of India’s largest corporations, the Tata Group. When Brilliant arrived at the Tatanagar Railway Station, he was horrified by what he saw: people with active cases of smallpox purchasing train tickets. The virus was spreading out of control. Brilliant knew that to stop the outbreak at its source, he would need the support of the company that ran the city. But he wasn’t optimistic the Tata Group would help. Still, he had to try. So, Brilliant tracked down a Tata executive and knocked on his door in the middle of the night. Brilliant’s message: “Your company is sending death all over the world. You're the greatest exporter of smallpox in history.” Much to his surprise, the leaders of Tata listened. Episode 5 of “Eradicating Smallpox” explores the unique partnership between the Tata Group and the campaign to end the virus. This collaboration between the private and public sector, domestic and international, proved vital in the fight to eliminate smallpox. To conclude the episode, host Céline Gounder speaks with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and virologist David Ho about the basketball league’s unique response to covid-19 — “the bubble” — and the essential role businesses can play in public health. “We need everyone involved,” Ho said, “from government, to academia, to the private sector.” In Conversation With Host Céline Gounder: Adam Silver Commissioner of the NBADavid Ho Director and CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research CenterVoices From the Episode: Larry Brilliant Former World Health Organization smallpox eradication worker in India @larrybrilliant  Find a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions. To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to “Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    24 phút
  5. 29/08/2023

    S2E4 / Speedboat Epidemiology

    Shahidul Haq Khan, a Bangladeshi health worker, and Tim Miner, an American with the World Health Organization, worked together on a smallpox eradication team in Bangladesh in the early 1970s. The team was based on a hospital ship and traveled by speedboat to track down cases of smallpox from Barishal to Faridpur to Patuakhali. Every person who agreed to get the smallpox vaccination was a potential outbreak averted, so the team was determined to vaccinate as many people as possible. The duo leaned on each other, sometimes literally, as they traversed the country’s rugged and watery geography. Khan, whom Miner sometimes referred to as “little brother,” used his local knowledge to help the team navigate both the cultural and physical landscape. When crossing rickety bamboo bridges, he would hold Miner’s hand and help him across. “We didn’t let him fall,” chuckled Khan. Episode 4 of “Eradicating Smallpox” explores what it took to bring care directly to people where they were. To conclude the episode, host Céline Gounder speaks with public health advocate Joe Osmundson about his work to help coordinate a culturally appropriate response to mpox in New York City during the summer of 2022. “The model that we're trying to build is a mobile unit that delivers all sorts of sexual and primary healthcare opportunities. They're opportunities!” exclaimed Osmundson. In Conversation With Host Céline Gounder: Joe Osmundson Public health advocate and clinical assistant professor of biology at New York University @reluctantlyjoeVoices From the episode: Tim Miner Former World Health Organization smallpox eradication program  worker in BangladeshShahidul Haq Khan Former World Health Organization smallpox eradication program  worker in BangladeshFind a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions. To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to “Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    22 phút
  6. 15/08/2023

    S2E3 / Zero Pox!

    In 1973, Bhakti Dastane arrived in Bihar, India, to join the smallpox eradication campaign. She was a year out of medical school and had never cared for anyone with the virus. She believed she was offering something miraculous, saving people from a deadly disease. But some locals did not see it that way. Episode 3 of “Eradicating Smallpox” explores what happened when public health workers — driven by the motto “zero pox!” — encountered hesitation. These anti-smallpox warriors wanted to achieve 100% vaccination, and they wanted to get there fast. Fueled by that urgency, their tactics were sometimes aggressive — and sometimes, crossed the line. “I learned about being overzealous and not treating people with respect,” said Steve Jones, another eradication worker based in Bihar in the early ’70s. To close out the episode, host Céline Gounder speaks with NAACP health researcher Sandhya Kajeepeta about the reverberations of using coercion to achieve public health goals. Kajeepeta’s work documents inequities in the enforcement of covid-19 mandates in New York City. In Conversation With Host Céline Gounder: Sandhya Kajeepeta - Epidemiologist and senior researcher with the NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Institute.   @SandhyaKajVoices From the Episode: Bhakti Dastane   Gynecologist and former World Health Organization smallpox eradication program worker in Bihar, India.Steve Jones   Physician-epidemiologist and former smallpox eradication campaign worker in India, Bangladesh, and Somalia.  @SteveJones322Sanjoy Bhattacharya  Medical historian and professor of medical and global health histories at the University of Leeds.  @JoyAgnostFind a transcript of this episode here. “Epidemic” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Just Human Productions.   To hear other KFF Health News podcasts, click here. Subscribe to “Epidemic” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    19 phút

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Eradicating Smallpox: The Heroes that Wiped out a 3,000-Year-Old Virus One of humanity’s greatest triumphs is the eradication of smallpox. This new eight-episode docuseries, “Eradicating Smallpox,” explores this remarkable feat and uncovers striking parallels and contrasts to recent history in the shadows of the covid-19 pandemic. Host Céline Gounder brings decades of experience working on HIV in Brazil and South Africa, Ebola during the outbreak in New Guinea, and covid-19 in New York City at the height of the pandemic. She travels to India and Bangladesh to bring never-before-heard stories from the front lines of the battle to wipe smallpox off the face of the Earth. “Epidemic” launched in early 2020 and quickly became a key source of reporting on the rapidly unfolding coronavirus pandemic. The show premiered at No. 1 in health and fitness and No. 1 in medicine on the Apple Podcast charts.

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