Special Episode: Dr. Steven Thrasher & The Viral Underclass

Special Episode: Dr. Steven Thrasher & The Viral Underclass

Are viruses the “great equalizers” that some people claim them to be? Are we all similarly susceptible not only to infection from viruses but also to the consequences from infection? The short answer is no. The longer answer can be found in this week’s book club pick, The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Dr. Steven Thrasher. Dr. Thrasher, the inaugural Daniel H. Renberg Chair and Assistant Professor of Journalism at Northwestern University, joins us to discuss how racism, classism, sexism, ableism, stigma, and other forms of oppression intersect to create a viral underclass, a group of individuals that are disproportionately susceptible to and impacted by viruses. Our conversation takes us through several of these vectors of the viral underclass as well as personal stories that illustrate how social and political structures punish certain communities for getting sick while others profit. Part memoir, part academic discussion, part journalism, and entirely groundbreaking, The Viral Underclass is an incredibly timely book that demonstrates the ways that viruses amplify and exacerbate existing inequalities while also underlining how we are truly all in this together. Our interconnectedness means that if one of us is vulnerable to infection, then we all are.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avsnitt(282)

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Ep 207 Tear Gas: How can a chemical weapon be “humane”?

Ep 207 Tear Gas: How can a chemical weapon be “humane”?

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14 Apr 1h 15min

Ep 206 Oropouche Virus: More than a smidge worrisome

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Though discovered relatively recently, Oropouche virus has been making headlines as an emerging vector-borne infectious disease on the rise. Not transmitted by the usual suspects (like ticks and mosqu...

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Ep 205 Cancer Part 4: Where do things stand today?

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24 Mars 1h 32min

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Each of our cells can become cancerous. It’s an uncomfortable, yet unavoidable truth. Nor is it a truth restricted to our species - cancer is a consequence of complex life. The features that make a ce...

10 Mars 1h 18min

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3 Mars 1h 36min

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