Countermeasures | Podcast Guru

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Throughout history, humanity has faced down disease and disaster. This season, Countermeasures traces the arc of public health crises and bioterrorism events across centuries, from the Black Death to the 2001 Anthrax attacks. We dig into how societies responded in the moment, what those responses reveal in hindsight, and what we still need to learn. Each episode uncovers the science and the human decisions behind our fight against health threats, and asks what it will take to be ready for the next one. Brought to you by Emergent, a leading public health company that delivers protective and life-saving solutions to communities around the world.

Recent Episodes

Inside the World of Botulism

This episode traces botulism from a misunderstood toxin to a modern medical mystery, exploring how the same poison shows up in home-canned fish, honey, infant formula, and cosmetic injections, why doctors so often miss the diagnosis, and what survi...

28 MIN

Beyond Rats and Fleas: The Real Story of the Black Plague

This episode traces the Black Death from its origins in Central Asia to its devastating sweep across Eurasia, exploring how trade, migration, and war fueled its spread, how medieval communities responded with early quarantine measures, and what ske...

29 MIN

Ebola: Same Virus, New Rules

This episode covers the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, now the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. We compare it to the more familiar Zaire strain and to the 2014 West ...

26 MIN

The Spanish Flu: A Pandemic the World Chose to Forget

This episode traces the 1918 influenza pandemic, from its origins in Kansas to the wartime censorship that hid its true toll, and asks why one of history's deadliest events largely vanished from public memory.Guests:John M. Barry: Historian and aut...

23 MIN

The Anthrax Attacks, 25 Years Later

One week after 9/11, letters laced with anthrax spores began arriving at newsrooms and Senate offices across the country. By the time it was over, five people were dead, seventeen more were sickened, and the United States was confronting its first ...

31 MIN