This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today’s standards.

Research:
Akst, Daniel. “Pellagra: The Forgotten Plague.” American Heritage. December 2000. https://www.americanheritage.com/pellagra-forgotten-plague
Baird Rattini, Kristin. “A Deadly Diet.” Discover. Mar2018, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p70-72.
Bridges, Kenneth. “Pellagra.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/pellagra-2230/
Clay, Karen et al. “The Rise and Fall of Pellagra in the American South.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 23730. 2018. http://www.nber.org/papers/w23730
Cleveland Clinic. “Pellagra.” 07/18/2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23905-pellagra
Crabb, Mary Katherine. “An Epidemic of Pride: Pellagra and the Culture of the American South.” Anthropologica , 1992, Vol. 34, No. 1 (1992), pp. 89-103. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25605634
Flannery, Michael A. “’Frauds,’ ‘Filth Parties,’ ‘Yeast Fads,’ and ‘Black Boxes’: Pellagra and Southern Pride, 1906-2003.” The Southern Quarterly. Vol. 53, no.3/4 (Spring/Summer 2016).
Gentilcore, David and Egidio Priani. “Pellagra and Pellagrous Insanity During the Long Nineteenth Century.” Mental Health in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan. 2023.
Ginnaio, Monica. “Pellagra in Late Nineteenth Century Italy: Effects of a Deficiency Disease.” Population-E, 66 (3-4), 2011, 583-610.
Hung, Putzer J. “Pellagra: A medical whodunit.” Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities. https://hekint.org/2018/09/18/pellagra-a-medical-whodunit/
Jaworek, Andrzej K. et al. “The history of pellagra.” Dermatol Rev/Przegl Dermatol 2021, 108, 554–566 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/dr.2021.114610
Kean, Sam. “Joseph Goldberger’s Filth Parties.” Science History Institute Museum and Library. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/joseph-goldbergers-filth-parties/
Kiple, Kenneth F. and Virginia H. “Black Tongue and Black Men: Pellagra and Slavery in the Antebellum South.” The Journal of Southern History , Aug., 1977, Vol. 43, No. 3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2207649
Kraut, Alan. “Dr. Joseph Goldberger & the War on Pellagra.” National Institutes of Health Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum. https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184
Marks, Harry M. “Epidemiologists Explain Pellagra: Gender, Race and Political Economy in the Work of Edgar Sydenstricker.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , JANUARY 2003. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24623836
Morabia, Alfredo. “Joseph Goldberger’s research on the prevention of pellagra.” J R Soc Med 2008: 101: 566–568. DOI 10.1258/jrsm.2008.08k010.
Park, Youngmee K. et al. “Effectiveness of Food Fortification in the United States: The Case of Pellagra.” American Journal of Public Health. May 2U(H). Vol. 90. No. 5.
Peres, Tanya M. “Malnourished.” Gravy. Southern Foodways Alliance. Fall 2016. https://www.southernfoodways.org/malnourished-cultural-ignorance-paved-the-way-for-pellagra/
Pinheiro, Hugo et al. “Hidden Hunger: A Pellagra Case Report.” Cureus vol. 13,4 e14682. 25 Apr. 2021, doi:10.7759/cureus.14682
A. C. Wollenberg. “Pellagra in Italy.” Public Health Reports (1896-1970), vol. 24, no. 30, 1909, pp. 1051–54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4563397. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
Rajakumar, Kumaravel. “Pellagra in the United States: A Historical Perspective.” SOUTHERN MEDICAL JOURNAL • Vol. 93, No. 3. March 2020.
Savvidou, Savvoula. “Pellagra: a non-eradicated old disease.” Clinics and practice vol. 4,1 637. 28 Apr. 2014, doi:10.4081/cp.2014.637
SEARCY GH. AN EPIDEMIC OF ACUTE PELLAGRA. JAMA. 1907;XLIX(1):37–38. doi:10.1001/jama.1907.25320010037002j
Skelton, John. “Poverty or Privies? The Pellagra Controversy in America.” Fairmount Folio: Journal of History. Vol. 15 (2014). https://journals.wichita.edu/index.php/ff/article/view/151
Tharian, Bindu. "Pellagra." New Georgia Encyclopedia, 20 September 2004, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/pellagra/.
University Libraries, University of South Carolina. “A Gospel of Health: Hilla Sheriff's Crusade Against Malnutrition in South Carolina.” https://digital.library.sc.edu/exhibits/hillasheriff/history-of-pellagra/
University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Pellagra in Alabama.” https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/regional-history/pellagra
Wheeler, G.A. “A Note on the History of Pellagra in the United States.” Public Health Reports (1896-1970) , Sep. 18, 1931, Vol. 46, No. 38. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4580180

This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today&rsquo;s standards.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Akst, Daniel. &ldquo;Pellagra: The Forgotten Plague.&rdquo; American Heritage. December 2000. https://www.americanheritage.com/pellagra-forgotten-plague</li>
<li>Baird Rattini, Kristin. &ldquo;A Deadly Diet.&rdquo; Discover. Mar2018, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p70-72.</li>
<li>Bridges, Kenneth. &ldquo;Pellagra.&rdquo; Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/pellagra-2230/</li>
<li>Clay, Karen et al. &ldquo;The Rise and Fall of Pellagra in the American South.&rdquo; National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 23730. 2018. http://www.nber.org/papers/w23730</li>
<li>Cleveland Clinic. &ldquo;Pellagra.&rdquo; 07/18/2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23905-pellagra</li>
<li>Crabb, Mary Katherine. &ldquo;An Epidemic of Pride: Pellagra and the Culture of the American South.&rdquo; Anthropologica , 1992, Vol. 34, No. 1 (1992), pp. 89-103. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25605634</li>
<li>Flannery, Michael A. &ldquo;&rsquo;Frauds,&rsquo; &lsquo;Filth Parties,&rsquo; &lsquo;Yeast Fads,&rsquo; and &lsquo;Black Boxes&rsquo;: Pellagra and Southern Pride, 1906-2003.&rdquo; The Southern Quarterly. Vol. 53, no.3/4 (Spring/Summer 2016).</li>
<li>Gentilcore, David and Egidio Priani. &ldquo;Pellagra and Pellagrous Insanity During the Long Nineteenth Century.&rdquo; Mental Health in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan. 2023.</li>
<li>Ginnaio, Monica. &ldquo;Pellagra in Late Nineteenth Century Italy: Effects of a Deficiency Disease.&rdquo; Population-E, 66 (3-4), 2011, 583-610.</li>
<li>Hung, Putzer J. &ldquo;Pellagra: A medical whodunit.&rdquo; Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities. https://hekint.org/2018/09/18/pellagra-a-medical-whodunit/</li>
<li>Jaworek, Andrzej K. et al. &ldquo;The history of pellagra.&rdquo; Dermatol Rev/Przegl Dermatol 2021, 108, 554&ndash;566 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/dr.2021.114610</li>
<li>Kean, Sam. &ldquo;Joseph Goldberger&rsquo;s Filth Parties.&rdquo; Science History Institute Museum and Library. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/joseph-goldbergers-filth-parties/</li>
<li>Kiple, Kenneth F. and Virginia H. &ldquo;Black Tongue and Black Men: Pellagra and Slavery in the Antebellum South.&rdquo; The Journal of Southern History , Aug., 1977, Vol. 43, No. 3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2207649</li>
<li>Kraut, Alan. &ldquo;Dr. Joseph Goldberger &amp; the War on Pellagra.&rdquo; National Institutes of Health Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum. https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184</li>
<li>Marks, Harry M. &ldquo;Epidemiologists Explain Pellagra: Gender, Race and Political Economy in the Work of Edgar Sydenstricker.&rdquo; Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , JANUARY 2003. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24623836</li>
<li>Morabia, Alfredo. &ldquo;Joseph Goldberger&rsquo;s research on the prevention of pellagra.&rdquo; J R Soc Med 2008: 101: 566&ndash;568. DOI 10.1258/jrsm.2008.08k010.</li>
<li>Park, Youngmee K. et al. &ldquo;Effectiveness of Food Fortification in the United States: The Case of Pellagra.&rdquo; American Journal of Public Health. May 2U(H). Vol. 90. No. 5.</li>
<li>Peres, Tanya M. &ldquo;Malnourished.&rdquo; Gravy. Southern Foodways Alliance. Fall 2016. https://www.southernfoodways.org/malnourished-cultural-ignorance-paved-the-way-for-pellagra/</li>
<li>Pinheiro, Hugo et al. &ldquo;Hidden Hunger: A Pellagra Case Report.&rdquo; Cureus vol. 13,4 e14682. 25 Apr. 2021, doi:10.7759/cureus.14682</li>
<li>A. C. Wollenberg. &ldquo;Pellagra in Italy.&rdquo; Public Health Reports (1896-1970), vol. 24, no. 30, 1909, pp. 1051&ndash;54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4563397. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.</li>
<li>Rajakumar, Kumaravel. &ldquo;Pellagra in the United States: A Historical Perspective.&rdquo; SOUTHERN MEDICAL JOURNAL &bull; Vol. 93, No. 3. March 2020.</li>
<li>Savvidou, Savvoula. &ldquo;Pellagra: a non-eradicated old disease.&rdquo; Clinics and practice vol. 4,1 637. 28 Apr. 2014, doi:10.4081/cp.2014.637</li>
<li>SEARCY GH. AN EPIDEMIC OF ACUTE PELLAGRA. JAMA. 1907;XLIX(1):37&ndash;38. doi:10.1001/jama.1907.25320010037002j</li>
<li>Skelton, John. &ldquo;Poverty or Privies? The Pellagra Controversy in America.&rdquo; Fairmount Folio: Journal of History. Vol. 15 (2014). https://journals.wichita.edu/index.php/ff/article/view/151</li>
<li>Tharian, Bindu. "Pellagra." New Georgia Encyclopedia, 20 September 2004, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/science-medicine/pellagra/.</li>
<li>University Libraries, University of South Carolina. &ldquo;A Gospel of Health: Hilla Sheriff's Crusade Against Malnutrition in South Carolina.&rdquo; https://digital.library.sc.edu/exhibits/hillasheriff/history-of-pellagra/</li>
<li>University of Alabama at Birmingham. &ldquo;Pellagra in Alabama.&rdquo; https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/regional-history/pellagra</li>
<li>Wheeler, G.A. &ldquo;A Note on the History of Pellagra in the United States.&rdquo; Public Health Reports (1896-1970) , Sep. 18, 1931, Vol. 46, No. 38. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4580180</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

This episode on the pellagra epidemic focuses on its prevalence in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Some of the scientific work done to understand it involves self-experimentation, and some of it is ethically problematic by today’s standards.

Pellagra, Part 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/542d4f26-832f-4845-8fc8-b29601801c69/transcript

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