This is the second of a two-part extra focusing on disease and pandemic. In this second special episode we turn to the 1918 Influenza outbreak, better known as the Spanish Flu, a global pandemic that took place near the end of World War I and killed an estimated 50 million people. We'll look how the virus spread during wartime and consider how US cities reacted to early public health control measures, include many we are familiar with today, such as social distancing and mandatory mask laws. We'll also look at how government efforts to suppress information about the pandemic played a role in making the outbreak worse, as well as how anti-mask resistance in cities like San Francisco find echoes still today. Stay tuned for part two of this deep dive into pandemic history. If you haven't listened to it already, be sure to check out part one of this two-part special, which looks at the Black Death in the 14th century.

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: Influenza, 1918 PBS American Experience

Clip 2: History Of The 1918 Flu Pandemic In 7 Minutes BuzzFeed News

Clip 3: Spanish Flu: A Warning from History Cambridge University

Clip 4: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Compares to the Spanish Flu New Yorker

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