And everywhere that Mary went, the typhoid was sure to go. 

The story of Mary Mallon (AKA Typhoid Mary) is one we're living every day to a small degree: the balance between public safety and personal liberty. Luckily for us, we'll never be imprisoned for being an symptomatic carrier of a disease. Well, never say never. 

To learn more about the life of Mary Mallon we call up author Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America). Why was Mary's story so popular in the early 1900s? And why is her name so familiar even today? 

 

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