Infectious Historians

• Episode 132 - Plague in the Ottoman Empire with Einar Wigen

  Einar Wigen (University of Oslo) joins the Infectious Historians to talk about the Ottoman experience of plague. The conversation begins with a reflection on the beginning and end of epidemics, as well as the purpose of such discussions - as people bestow importance upon epidemics. It then transitions to plague in the Ottoman Empire - covering its impact as well as how the Ottomans themselves thought about the plague. Einar points out some of the (few) sources and their nature, discusses the differences between impacts on the hinterland and rural areas, and connects the discussion to orientalist stereotypes about the Ottomans. Finally, Einar reflects on his historical work within the context of Covid.

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• Episode 131 - Pandemic Ends with Erica Charters

  Erica Charters (University of Oxford) comes on the podcast to discuss how pandemics end. Erica begins by pointing out that we tend to pay far less attention to the end of pandemics, reflecting on the ending of Covid in public discourse. Erica then discusses a large project she ran which brought together over 40 international scholars on the end of pandemics which also examined the same issue. The conversation then moves to discuss endemic diseases, as well as the possibility that an epidemic disappears in a sense by becoming endemic and therefore less noticeable as an exception. Erica also notes the role of endemic diseases, for example in the early modern period. 

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• Episode 130 - Reading and Caregiving during Covid with Robert Zaretsky

  Robert Zaretsky (University of Houston) joins the Infectious Historians to reflect on his experiences during Covid as he read “plague literature” and volunteered as an aide at a nursing home. The interview begins with Robert reflecting on his thinking during Covid and how he moved from reading history to literature. The conversation continues by moving between Robert’s voluntary work at the nursing home and the books he read upon during Covid. Robert reflects on how he read Camus differently during Covid, drawing parallels between the novel and his own personal experiences. He proceeds to raise some of the existential questions from the book, and recounts how he left the nursing home and what happened afterwards.

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• Episode 129 - Modern Flu with Michael Bresalier

  Michael Bresalier (Swansea University) discusses his work on the modern flu with Merle and Lee. Michael begins with talking about influenza in general and how the virus is constantly changing. The conversation then moves to focus on the annual flu shot - including its composition and how it is  manufactured. Michael answers questions about a few other topics - including the impact of the 1918 pandemic on the knowledge of the flu in medical thinking, and the classic story of how the flu virus was discovered - where he highlights the invisible institutional framework that enabled the discovery to happen. The interview concludes with a reflection on the work needed to control a disease and the necessary multi-species approach required to do so. 

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• Episode 128 - Medieval Recipes with Claire Burridge

  Claire Burridge (University of Oslo) comes on the podcast to discuss her work on “medical minitexts” such as recipe added to medieval manuscripts otherwise unrelated to medicine. The conversation begins with a broad framing of the period of and the genre of medical manuscripts before zooming into some of the recipes that address a variety of health issues. Claire reflects on the ingredients for the recipes, the ways in which they changed over time, whether or not they work, and the extent to which they circulated in and beyond regions. She also draws some of the new connections between some recipes and osteological research.

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