Susan Wise Bauer is a historian and author of The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy. I reviewed her book a few weeks ago, and Joy attended a talk she gave William & Mary. Her engaging book seems to come from an era when the history of science existed outside of politics, restoring a calm sense of historical perspective much needed in these troubled times.

In addition teaching for 18 years at William and Mary and writing books, Bauer is a farmer and a publisher.

We discuss a grab-bag of topics, including:

We also share our “Discoveries of the Week:”