The influenza strain that hit the world in 1918 killed between 50 and 100 million people. It was not the first flu to have such an impact on humanity, and it also may not be the last. In this episode we talk with John Barry about his research on the history of influenza, the current state of preparedness, and the unexpected ways that influenza has shaped modern history.

John Barry is the author of multiple award-winning books including the New York Times Best Seller The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History (Penguin, 2005).

Click here to get The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History as an audio book on libro.fm. Road to Now listeners can go to libro.fm & get a 3-month membership for the price of one (3 audiobooks for just $14.95) w/ promo code RTN. You can also check out our libro.fm playlist, which features books by past RTN guests!

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this and all episodes, check out our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com.