EP.885: How Pandemics Revolutionize World History

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Prof. Frank Snowden of Yale University, author of ‘Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present’. He discusses the importance of pandemics and epidemics in shaping societies around the world throughout history, his own experience of getting infected with Coronavirus, the link between pandemics and capitalism’s destruction of the environment, how pandemics shaped history such as the Plague of Athens which caused the rise of Sparta, how today’s scapegoating of China by Boris Johnson and Donald Trump is similar to the response during the Plague of Athens and the growth of the HIV epidemic, how globalisation has caused a rise of viral diseases, Coronavirus ravaging the poor and more! Next, we speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Dubravka Simonovic. She discusses the risks faced by women stuck at home amid the Coronavirus lockdowns and lack of adequate services to prevent violence, the disparity of availability of services to help women in different regions of the world, countries not ratifying the Istanbul convention including Britain and Russia and its consequences and more! Finally, we speak to KK Shailaja, the State Health Minister for Communist Party-run Kerala, India. She discusses what has made Kerala’s Coronavirus response an example to the world and a major success, the strategies they have used to keep COVID-19 infections and deaths low, the Kerala government’s programs to ensure the vulnerable do not suffer from hunger or lacking necessities during the lockdown and more!