From the archives of our sister podcast AMERICAN DIAGNOSIS

Gun violence isn’t random. Both guns and violence spread like infectious diseases through social networks—in the real world and online. Understanding how gun violence spreads can help us control the contagion. Guests: Gary Slutkin, Founder of Cure Violence, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and TEDMED 2013 speaker; Andrew Papachristos, Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University; Desmond Patton, Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University; and Tomás Ortiz, former Latin Kings gang member and now violence interrupter in Chicago.

This podcast was created by Just Human Productions. We're powered and distributed by Simplecast. We're supported, in part, by listeners like you.

REBROADCAST / American Diagnosis / Violence Is Contagious

Eradicating Smallpox: The Heroes that Wiped out a 3,000-Year-Old Virus

One of humanity’s greatest triumphs is the eradication of smallpox. This new eight-episode docuseries, “Eradicating Smallpox,” explores this remarkable feat and uncovers striking parallels and contrasts to recent history in the shadows of the covid-19 pandemic.  

Host Céline Gounder brings decades of experience working on HIV in Brazil and South Africa, Ebola during the outbreak in New Guinea, and covid-19 in New York City at the height of the pandemic. She travels to India and Bangladesh to bring never-before-heard stories from the front lines of the battle to wipe smallpox off the face of the Earth.  

“Epidemic” launched in early 2020 and quickly became a key source of reporting on the rapidly unfolding coronavirus pandemic. The show premiered at No. 1 in health and fitness and No. 1 in medicine on the Apple Podcast charts.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Science

Health & Fitness

Documentary

Life Sciences

The series finale of “Epidemic: Eradicating Smallpox” is a visit to the home of Rahima Banu, the last person with a documented case of naturally occurring variola major smallpox. When the virus was declared eradicated, she became a symbol of one of the greatest victories in global public health. What happened to Rahima Banu afterward?

S2E8 / The Scars of Smallpox

What good is a vaccine when there is no rice? Episode 7 of “Eradicating Smallpox” explores the barriers public health workers face in communities where people’s basic needs aren’t being met.

S2E7 / What Good Is a Vaccine When There Is No Rice?

Trust is hard to build and easy to break. In Episode 6 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast, meet Chandrakant Pandav, a health worker who used laughter and song to try to rebuild trust with communities harmed by India’s sometimes violent and coercive family planning campaign.

S2E6 / Bodies Remember What Was Done to Them

Episode 5 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast explores how a partnership between public health institutions and a huge, influential private company was key in the campaign to eliminate smallpox.

S2E5 / The Tata Way

Join an online conversation led by Céline Gounder, a physician-epidemiologist and the host Season 2 of the “Epidemic” podcast, at noon ET on Thursday Sept. 14 about what the success of smallpox eradication can teach us about the public health challenges of the future.

REBROADCAST / American Diagnosis / Violence Is Contagious

Download our free app to listen on your phone