Smallpox Part Two: Scourge in the Americas, Edward Jenner and Vaccination

Poor Historians: Misadventures in Medical History

Addendum: There were some errors in the original audio file caught by early listeners. These were corrected but early downloaders may have the old version. Apologies for that.
This week we bring you part two of our deep dive into the history of smallpox and the discovery of vaccination. We'll talk about smallpox in the Americas and the unimaginable devastation wrought upon the native peoples of the two continents. Then we'll talk about how this awful disease came to its end thanks to the discovery of vaccination, courtesy of Dr. Edward Jenner and the appreciation for the stalwart immune systems of milkmaids as the first key to winning against the viral foe that had plagued civilization for probably the entirety of recorded history.
We are joined again by James Wilke, former artist in residency at the International Museum of Surgical Science whose research centered on smallpox. His exhibit, Pox Americana: How Smallpox Once Plagued America and The World was extended beyond its original dates to run from July and having just recently ended this past November. James is an artist of many talents. In addition to his work as a medical historian, he is an artist-author, playwright, Emmy award winning director, producer, singer/songwriter and, most recently again is the creator of this week's episode and fantastic introductory "Christmas at Mount Vernon" skit-- think Night Before Xmas except with more smallpox than the original--and the later Blossom 2.0 Vaccine Supreme skit as well.
We hope you enjoy the final episode in our smallpox deep dive for now. See links below to follow James' work.
Guest Links:
Museum website: https://imss.org/james-r-wilke/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/james.r.wilke/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087887634437

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