Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present

It’s origin. Stats. Ebola in the US and political ramifications. About the virus: symptoms & how it works. Vaccine development. 14 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode

Swine flu details & stats. Why called Swine Flu? Barack Obama’s response & criticism. Also, how did flu viruses evolve? What flu strains existed over the decades & where did they come from? How do new strains come about? Finally, I go through the whole evolution of flu strains from 1918 Spanish Flu through theContinue reading "2009 “Swine Flu” and the Evolution of Flu Strains. Ep. 25"

The facts of the SARS & MERS outbreaks. Responses to the threats. What are coronaviruses? 17 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode

Virology of AIDS (how it infects). G. W. Bush’s AIDS relief program. HIV drugs. ART (anti-retroviral therapy). Work on HIV vaccines – why so difficult. “Cured” patients. HIV-denialist Peter Duesberg. The work of Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier. 15 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode

Symptoms. Treatment. Origin. History of cases from the 1970’s. Politics/Ronald Reagan. AIDS organizations. Ryan White. Other famous victims. Statistics. 15 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode

First I mention a 1348 plague-related riot in Germany. Then I talk about how the 1918 flu might have changed history when President Woodrow Wilson came down with it. Then I turn to the 1968 flu. How did it arise? Who was affected? What about Woodstock? 11 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] reading "1968 “Hong Kong Flu.” Ep. 21"

First I try to guess at what pathogens killed the most people in all of history. (I revise this in a later episode.) Also a little cholera story. Then the story of the Asian Flu. About flu subtypes and the origin of the Asian Flu. 13 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagramContinue reading "1957 “Asian Flu.” Ep. 20"

The development of them (drama!). Koprowski’s live attenuated vaccine vs. Salk’s dead-virus injectable vaccine. How Koprowski’s vaccine was made (wild science). Experimenting on disabled or prison poluations (not cool). Roosevelt and the March of Dimes. The Koprowski/Sabin sugar cube vaccine. Legacy of Jonas Salk. Some real polio stories I cultivated from folks on FB. 17Continue reading "Polio Part 2. Vaccines. Ep. 19"

What is it? How long has it been around? Polio in the 1900’s. President Franklin Roosevelt. Weird early treatments. The Iron Lung. 1950’s outbreaks. 16 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode

Why was it called that? How it happened. Who was affected and theories about why. Masks! Social distancing! Snake oil cures. Yes, literally snake oil. 17 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode