Special Episode: Dr. Olivia Weisser & The Dreaded Pox
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What were the most feared diseases in early modern London?
I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on. A Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman.
Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets. A billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly, just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the psychology of your 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face.
How was syphilis perceived in society during this time?
I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I was just so wanting to be out of that phase, out of my skin, and I just really regret not living in the present more.
You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to The Psychology of Your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Dani Shapiro, and these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets.
He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move.
What sources did Dr. Weiser use to research syphilis?
And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ¶¶
Hi, I'm Erin Welsh, and this is This Podcast Will Kill You. Welcome to the TPWKY Book Club, a series where I invite authors of popular science and medicine books to the show to chat with me about their latest work. This podcast will kill you dot com. There, in addition to finding all sorts of goodies, from transcripts to sources, you'll find a link to our bookshop.org affiliate page under the Extras tab. On Bookshop, you'll see a bunch of TPWKY-related book lists, including one for this book club, as well as the Kids Book Club, put together by Erin Updike and posted on our socials. So if you're not following us there already, you should be.
How did people in London seek cures for syphilis?
As always, we love hearing from you all about these book club episodes and about our other episodes, your thoughts, your suggestions. We love it all. The best way to get in touch is through the contact us form on our website or through the submit your firsthand account form, which you can also find on our website. Two last things before moving on to the book of the week, and that is to please rate, review, and subscribe. It truly helps us out. And second, you can now find full video versions of most of our regular season episodes on YouTube. Make sure you're subscribed to the Exactly Right Media YouTube channel so you never miss a new episode drop. Londoners in the 17th and 18th centuries were no strangers to infectious disease.
Plague, tuberculosis, typhus, measles, and smallpox all reared their pestilential heads at some point or another. But alongside these well-known and highly broadcast afflictions lurked another disease, so feared and so stigmatized that it was sometimes known as the secret disease.
What role did gender play in the stigma of syphilis?
We know it today as syphilis. Syphilis, or the pox as it was also called, was among the most feared diagnoses in early modern London. not just because there were no effective cures and it could lead to painful sores or even death. If your pox infection became public knowledge, you would likely face deep stigma and shame. You may even be ostracized from your friends and family. With so much at stake, it's no wonder people went to great lengths to manage or conceal their condition. In The Dreaded Pox, Sex and Disease in Early Modern London, author Dr. Olivia Weiser, associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, peels back the curtain on the most intimate facets of Londoners' lives centuries ago.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the most feared diseases in early modern London?
0:01–0:52
2
How was syphilis perceived in society during this time?
0:52–1:37
3
What sources did Dr. Weiser use to research syphilis?
1:37–3:37
4
How did people in London seek cures for syphilis?
3:37–4:45
5
What role did gender play in the stigma of syphilis?
4:45–6:00
6
How did syphilis affect social standing and relationships?
6:00–7:22
7
What parallels exist between historical and modern views of STIs?
7:22–8:06
8
How does Dr. Weiser's research shed light on contemporary issues?
8:06–1:00:33
Speakers
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