Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas · Sean Carroll
Thomas Levenson on the Mutual History of Humans and Germs
April 21, 2025·1 hr 32 min·5 clips
Thomas Levenson explains why every old-timey disease except smallpox is still lurking and killing people worldwide.
As heard by us
A clear history of how inoculation and vaccination were distinguished across cultures.
The episode follows Thomas Levenson as he traces smallpox inoculation across Africa, the Near East, Western Europe, and the Americas, while Sean Carroll uses the conversation to draw a clean line between inoculation and vaccination.
Why you'd press play
Follow the early history of smallpox inoculation across Africa, Turkey, and colonial New England.
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