This is the first of a two-part extra focusing on disease and pandemic. In this first special episode we turn to the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century, better known as the Black Death, a pandemic that devastated Europe and remains the single most deadly disease in human history, accounting for a staggering number of deaths, with estimated as high as 200 million dead. We'll look at the science and history behind the Bubonic Plague, and explore how this disease travelled from fleas to rate to humans. We'll also look at how Medieval society responded, from religious communities like the Flagellants to Italian medical experts who developed the now famous plague masks and gave us the term quarantine. Be sure to check out part two, which will look at the 1918 Influenza pandemic.

I'm producing these episodes in parallel with a course of the same name which I am teaching at California State University, Chico where I am currently teaching.  Each week I will look at a different topic related to the end of the world, from doomsday preppers and our deepest fears to the role of religion, media, and politics in thinking about the end of the world.

There are several short video segments included which you can watch by following the links below:

Clip 1: Disease - Crash Course World History

Clip 2: How You Could Have Survived the Black Death

Clip 3: Europe on the Brink of the Black Death

For additional show notes and materials references in this episode be sure to visit my End of the World page:

https://www.chriscrews.com/end-of-the-world-podcast/

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Crews