Skip to content
The First Pandemic? episode artwork

Aug 7, 2024 30 min

The First Pandemic?

from The LRB Podcast Hosted by The London Review of Books

In the 160s CE, Rome was struck by a devastating disease which, a new book argues, may have been the world’s first pandemic. Galen began his career treating ’the protracted plague’ with viper flesh, opium and urine, but despite his extensive documentation, we still don’t know what a modern diagnosis would be. Josephine Quinn joins Malin to discuss contemporary theories about the Antonine Plague and what ice cores and amulets can tell us about the disease’s impact. Further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/romanplaguepod LRB Audio Discover the LRB's subscription podcast, Close Readings, and audiobooks: https://lrb.me/audiopod

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

The First Pandemic?

0:00 30:18

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of The LRB Podcast?

This episode is 30 minutes long.

When was this The LRB Podcast episode published?

This episode was published on August 7, 2024.

Can I download this The LRB Podcast episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.