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Before Covid,Most Americans couldn’t imagine the staggering loss of life that earlier generations experienced during epidemics of smallpox, diphtheria, polio and other fatal infectious diseases. We’ve been living in a golden age since WWII, when widespread use of vaccines and antibiotics eradicated the biggest killers and doubled life expectancy. But the catch-22 of medical discovery is that over time, we collectively forget the horror of the diseases from which we were saved.

Today, a look at our never-ending quest to escape contagion. We also talk about the myth of ‘Patient Zero’ and a lunar pandemic that never happened.

GUESTS: 
Richard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer for Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic, and other publications. He’s  also a former Guggenheim Fellow. His most recent book is Ending Epidemics: A History of Escape From Contagion.
Leyla Mei is a New York City-based writer and medical historian. She has a PhD in American history and writes about disease, risk and race. 
Dagomar DeGroot is an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University. His work has appeared in Aeon magazine, The Conversation, and TheWashington Post, among other outlets.  His most recent book, Ripples in the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Humanity's Place in the Solar System, will be published in 2024.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Before Covid, Most Americans couldn’t imagine the staggering loss of life that earlier generations experienced during epidemics of smallpox, diphtheria, polio and other fatal infectious diseases. We’ve been living in a golden age since WWII, when widespread use of vaccines and antibiotics eradicated the biggest killers and doubled life expectancy. But the catch-22 of medical discovery is that over time, we collectively forget the horror of the diseases from which we were saved.
Today, a look at our never-ending quest to escape contagion. We also talk about the myth of ‘Patient Zero’ and a lunar pandemic that never happened.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Richard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer for Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic, and other publications. He’s  also a former Guggenheim Fellow. His most recent book is <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047968/ending-epidemics/">Ending Epidemics: A History of Escape From Contagion.</a></li>
<li>Leyla Mei is a New York City-based <a href="https://www.leylamei.com/about">writer and medical historian</a>. She has a PhD in American history and writes about disease, risk and race. </li>
<li>Dagomar DeGroot is an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University. <a href="https://www.dagomardegroot.com/">His work</a> has appeared in Aeon magazine, The Conversation, and The Washington Post, among other outlets.  His most recent book, Ripples in the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Humanity's Place in the Solar System, will be published in 2024. </li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p?si=89RJodkWRsOo1dck5BCdMA&amp;nd=1">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/colin-mcenroe-show-rsspodcast">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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