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Episodes
- S1 E1 - Reassessing the Black DeathJanuary 18, 202321minAs we deal with our own 21st-century pandemic, the curious among us have looked back to the 14th-century pandemic known as the Black Death. You’ll be surprised to discover how many of our assumptions and conclusions about that time have been upended as new methods of scientific inquiry have been applied to old questions.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E2 - A Deeper Dive into Rat and Flea BehaviorJanuary 18, 202326minA deeper understanding of rat and flea biology and behavior along with the 21st-century ability to examine ancient DNA have allowed us to correct long-held assumptions about the origin of the three known plague pandemics. Follow the fascinating scientific trail that now allows us to state with certainty where the plague did—and did not—originate.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E3 - Human-to-Human Plague TransmissionJanuary 18, 202317minMedieval peoples suffered from the unpredictability of the pandemic as it exploded in some seasons and locations, died down, and then showed up again years later. Explore what we have recently learned about transmission of the four types of plague—bubonic, pneumonic, septicemic, and digestive—and how that affected the timing and intensity of outbreaks.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E4 - Plague, Grain, and the MongolsJanuary 18, 202331minWe now know the grain trade was responsible for the movement of black rats and their fleas around the medieval world. Learn how a serious increase in European urbanization and well-established trade networks set the continent up for a devastating fall once the Mongols pushed west into the area.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E5 - The Big Bang of the Black DeathJanuary 18, 202326minScientists have discovered that what gave the Black Death its stunning lethality and transmissibility was a mutation in a bacterial strain about 100 years before the plague showed up in Europe. Explore the genetics of Yersinia pestis and learn how scientists have confirmed that plague came into the European world only one time.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E6 - The Fate of the Plague’s SurvivorsJanuary 18, 202322minWe now understand better than ever that the experience of a pandemic—both then and now—is not a singular event or occurrence. It is an ongoing trauma, and we have no way to know when it will be over. Examine the inherent societal flaws that pandemics reveal and consider whether any of our social, economic, medical, and political safety nets held up the way we had hoped.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E7 - The Old World Falls AwayJanuary 18, 202324minFor those who survived the upheaval of this medieval pandemic, European life—and even the understanding of the very purpose of government—had forever changed. Study the many ways in which society responded to this massive depopulation and its associated problems by looking at the social networks that were developed to better combat plague and provide relief and support.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
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