146. Disease vs. the rise of civilisation

Why was London such a cauldron of sexual scandal and political tumult in the 18th century? What licentious escapades did the infamous Scottish nobleman, James Boswell, get up to there? And, how did his legendary first meeting with the renowned wit Samuel Johnson, unfold? Join Tom ...  Show more

Who was Samuel Johnson, the dominant literary celebrity of 18th century London and the man who wrote the Dictionary? Why did his friendship with James Boswell, a sex and celebrity obsessed, but very talented writer, flourish? And, how does this titanic friendship open a window on ...  Show more

April 5, 1918. The first mention of a new influenza outbreak in Kansas appears in a public health report. That strain, later called the Spanish Flu, would go on to kill at least 50 million people worldwide. In a time before widespread global travel, how did this disease spread so ...  Show more

Subscribe to the podcast!  https://podfollow.com/everythingeverywhere/ The largest single killer of human beings throughout history has been disease.  With the advent of modern medicine and the understanding of how bacteria, viruses, and parasites work, we’ve made enormous stri ...  Show more

Three years into a global pandemic, the fact that infectious disease is capable of reshaping humanity is obvious. But seen in the context of sixty thousand years of human and scientific history, COVID-19 is simply the latest in a series of world-changing pathogens. In fact, the r ...  Show more

When people think of Medieval diseases, hysterical dancing is not usually what first comes to mind. Yet in 14th and 15th century Germany, dozens of ordinary people claimed to be infected by the ‘dancing plague’. What was this mysterious phenomenon? What caused it? And was it e ...