Experiencing Epidemics Podcast

Our last episode is a special one. We first join Dr. Doina Anca Cretu to explore some facets of a terrible humanitarian and health crisis that took place in a war-torn Europe during World War I. Then, we join cohosts Jorge Díaz Ceballos and Gašper Jakovac to share some thoughts about the whole arch of historical experiences covered by this podcast and try to provide our listeners, and ourselves, with a bit of closure. Thank you for listening!

Hosted by Ian Hathaway

In our twelfth episode, Professor Brian Cummings shares with us a letter written by the famous Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466-1536). In 1500, an outbreak of plague in Paris forced Erasmus to flee to Orléans. Months later, he remained skeptical about returning to the city even though his correspondents urged him to return. What did Erasmus have to say about prudence and active avoidance of taking unnecessary risks during epidemics? Find out in today’s episode.

Hosted by Gašper Jakovac

In our eleventh episode, Dr. Jakob Lehne shares an intriguing story of scholarly hubris, courage, and suffering. In 1897, A group of young Austro-Hungarian researchers led by Dr. Hermann Franz Müller, set sail from Trieste for Bombay to conduct research on the recent plague outbreak. After working there for more than 3 months collecting data the team returned home. Unfortunately, this was not the end of their encounter with the plague. To find out more, tune into the episode!

Hosted by Gašper Jakovac

In our tenth episode, Dr. Lori Jones explores the travels and transformations of a famous plague treaty from the Middle Ages: John of Burgundy's Plague Tract. Curious about late medieval plague remedies, including bloodletting? Or perhaps you are interested in the changes to John's book made by copyists throughout the centuries? Either way, we have material for you in today's episode!

Hosted by Ian Hathaway

In our ninth episode, Dr. Jane Stevens Crawshaw guides our reading of Rocco Benedetti’s Accounts of some events taking place in Venice during the plague years of 1576-1577. How did Benedetti’s work as a notary shape his views on this terrible episode of Venetian history? What did he think about the local plague hospitals’ performance and the lockdown practices ordered by the government? Find out in today’s episode!

Hosted by Ian F. Hathaway

Thumbnail - L'isole piv famose del mondo descritte e intagliate da Girolamo Porro. Con l'aggiunta di molte isole ... / [Thomaso Porcacchi].. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

In our eighth episode, Dr. Clément Godbarge explores the writings of Filippo Cavriana, a sixteenth-century Italian physician and spy who worked at the court of France for many years. What was the nature of the relationship between plague and civil war, according to Cavriana? What did this learned physician think of aggressive medical treatments? The answers might surprise you!

Hosted by Jorge Díaz Ceballos

Follow professors Nükhet Varlık and Giancarlo Casale, along with Ph.D. researcher Tunahan Durmaz into the fascinating world of Ottoman experiences of epidemics. What can we learn about plague and disease control from the words of an eighteenth-century Ottoman ambassador or the reflections of a seventeenth-century Istanbulite dervish? Find out in today’s episode!

Hosted by Ian Hathaway,  Gašper Jakovac, and Jorge Díaz Ceballos

In our sixth episode, doctoral researcher Tomás Tassinari discusses sixteenth-century letters written by Jesuit missionaries about the effect of infectious disease on Brazilian indigenous populations. How did these missionaries view the people they had traveled so far to convert? What elements of early modern imperialistic mentality still linger today? Find out in today’s episode!

Hosted by Gašper Jakovac and Ian Hathaway

In our fifth episode, we interview Dr. Anton Serdeczny about the writings of Michael Ranft. Ranft was a Lutheran clergyman who contested popular beliefs according to which corpses could raise from their graves and spread disease among the living. But what did our Lutheran clergyman have to say about these ancient, superstitious beliefs? What did his erudite understanding of theology and medicine make of the Dead Who Chew? Find out in today's episode.

In our fourth episode, Ludwig Pelzl takes us to early eighteenth-century Germany, where he explores the politics of running a retirement home through an epidemic. Hit by the plague outbreak of 1713, St. Catherine’s hospital in Regensburg lost roughly half of its retirees. How did the officials of St. Catherine’s hospital deal with this catastrophe? What lessons were learned? How did they, if at all, modify their business model? Find out in today’s episode!

Hosted by Gašper Jakovac, read by Ian Hathaway