Riots over inoculations. Large-scale quarantines and lockdowns. Criticisms of government action (or inaction) during disease outbreaks. The spread of mis- and disinformation about the safety of immunizations. You may be thinking, “this is a COVID episode, isn’t it?”. Not quite. In this latest installment of the TPWKY book club we’ll be discussing another key period in US history that had profound, long-lasting impacts on public health and access to medical care: the American Revolutionary War, when liberty from smallpox was even more important to the American colonists than independence from Great Britain. Our time travel tour guide is Dr. Andrew Wehrman, Associate Professor of History at Central Michigan University, who joins us to discuss his fascinating book The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution, published in December 2022. As our conversation reveals, public demand for inoculation was so great that riots were held to protest unequal access, our current lack of universal healthcare systems has incredibly deep roots, and George Washington’s greatest legacy may in fact be his ability to change his mind when presented with new information. With the Fourth of July just one week ago, what better time to consider this fresh perspective on the American fight for independence and freedom from disease.
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Ep 80 Dysentery loves a disaster
Ep 79 Hemophilia: A Hemorrhagic Disposition
Ep 78 Bartonella: Keep Calm and Carrión
Ep 77 Legionnaires' Disease: A Killer Mist
Ep 76 Chickenpox: There's always a 'but'
Ep 75 Mercury: The cost of progress
COVID-19 Chapter 20: Looking forward by looking back
Ep 74 Naegleria fowleri: The "brain-eating amoeba"
COVID-19 Chapter 19: Your Stories
Ep 73 Puerperal Fever: Seriously, wash your hands
COVID-19 Chapter 18: Conservation & Pandemics
Ep 72 White-Nose Syndrome: How deep is your torpor?
COVID-19 Chapter 17: Frontline Mental Health
Ep 71 Onchocerciasis/River Blindness: So many mysteries
COVID-19 Chapter 16: Disparities, Take 2
Ep 70 Henrietta Lacks: HeLa, There, & Everywhere
COVID-19 Chapter 15: Disease, Take 2
Ep 69 Huntington’s disease: Let’s talk frankly
Ep 68 Coccidioidomycosis: It’s never a spider bite
Ep 67 HPV: My wart be with you
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