The 1918 Spanish Flu killed more Americans during World War I than mustard gas or trench warfare, but there are no monuments or memorials dedicated to the victims of this pandemic. Lost Prologue, a four-part series, explores the history of the 1918 pandemic — its intimate connection to WW1, the ways Americans were inequitably impacted, and the science behind the world’s deadliest pathogen. The people you’ll hear from include prominent virologists, scientists, and historians who reconstruct this missing chapter of history and shed light on the current pandemic.
This episode investigates why America neglected to memorialize the 1918 pandemic and the grim consequences of this historical amnesia.
This episode uncovers the decades-long pursuit to reconstruct the deadliest pathogen in human history and the lessons learned about what made the 1918 virus so lethal.
This episode examines the ways that Americans were differentially and inequitably impacted by the 1918 virus — how their experiences varied based on age, race, class, and region.
Chapter 1, The Cost of War, explores the inextricable link between World War I and the Spanish flu...the ways that the movement of soldiers accelerated the spread of the virus and the role that press and political censorship had on silencing this story.
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