Poisons and Pestilence

Reid Kirby will be publishing his book in June. Follow him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rkirby/      Media Credits: ABC news.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-jA96JgD9U

In this episode Jessica Morris discusses her work on the evolution of British Gas Strategy during WW1. 

In this episode I discuss operational aspects of the destruction of declared Syrian CW stocks - with Jerry Smith. Recorded November 2024. 

You can check our more of Dr Zander's work over at The Trench – Challenging entrenched positions - Jean Pascal Zanders

The show notes will follow shortly on this episode on poisoning in the renaissance. 

In this episode Nathan discusses WW2 ARP preparations for gas attacks on civilian centres.    Media source: Have Your Gas Masks With You (1941-1946) (youtube.com) I do not own the rights to this clip, used under fair usage. 

In this bonus episode I am joined by Seth Carus, as we explore some of the earliest allegations of biological warfare- as well as the more recent modern developments, which transformed ancient fears, into Cold War era weapon systems.   Do check out these two studies, I think they are great:  Carus, W. Seth. "The history of biological weapons use: what we know and what we don't." Health security 13.4 (2015): 219-255. Carus, W. Seth. "A century of biological-weapons programs (1915–2015): reviewing the evidence." The Nonproliferation Review 24.1-2 (2017): 129-153.    And also thanks to Adrienne Mayor, who drew my attention to this work on the Caffa siege, and recent work on the spread of the Black Death in the 14th century more broadly.  https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/711596  https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:50220/datastreams/CONTENT/content  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(20)30176-2/fulltext          

In this episode I talk about Ian's experience as a Porton Down research volunteer as a serviceman during the 1980's. Ian is eager to contact other former veterans - please email be directly at Bwie20[@]bath.ac.uk.  The most substantive publicly available report on this subject, which we are aware of, is published here: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Defence Internet | About Defence | Historical Survey of the Porton Down Servce Vounteer Programme 1939-1989 (nationalarchives.gov.uk)    You can also find details of the cohort medical study here: The Porton Down Veterans Cohort Study | King's College London (kcl.ac.uk)     

In this episode we look at the history of bio-threat assessment. With a review provided by Michael Parker, who has collated a list of threat assessments produced over the past century. You can find further details on the project here! Do check it out!   https://cobrabiosecurity.org/   Further reading: Sequence-Based Classification of Select Agents A BRIGHTER LINE Committee on Scientific Milestones for the Development of a Gene Sequence-Based Classification System for the Oversight of Select Agents National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Sequence-Based Classification of Select Agents: A Brighter Line. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12970.  The Select Agent Regulations: Structure and Stricture Shreya Kalra ▸Michael Parker (2022)  The Select Agent Regulations: Structure and Stricture | Georgetown Scientific Research Journal (gsrjournal.org)  Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run. Michael Parker Shreya Kalra and Bryce Kassalow (2022) Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens | The Scientist Magazine® (the-scientist.com)    Comment from Parker, Michael Posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan 19, (2022)  Regulations.gov Improving U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity: Revisiting Recommendations from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel and the Fast Track Action Committee on Select Agent Regulations Authors: Clint A. Haines  and Gigi Kwik Gronvall  (2022) Improving U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity: Revisiting Recommendations from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel and the Fast Track Action Committee on Select Agent Regulations | Applied Biosafety (liebertpub.com)      

Find Andrej's work over at: https://www.youtube.com/@cbrnacademy  And the video is available here https://youtu.be/Xf3vW3pWIm8?si=-Mpz5eNteHG61o84 

All clips are from the following trailers. Used under fair usage.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWlNe1-5wb8&t=9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWB6Ufh4O98  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtKMEAXyPkg&t=25s 

In this episode I discuss pathogens, as well as security screening in the gene synthesis industry- with someone who isn't that sectors namesake- but has done a lot of work relevant to it: Gene Godbold, from Signature Science LLC. 

Another movie special !  The expanse- and the space fungus hypothesis!  With Dr Emily Ricotta.    https://www.emilyricotta.com/   I do not own the right to the trailer, which is used under normal critique and review exemptions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0QwBp_da28 

In this movie review special Gwyn Winfield discusses the series 'Fallout'- and touch on the depiction of the environmental effects of nuclear weapons- among other things. Fallout is available on Prime Video.    Gwyn's magazine: https://cbrneworld.com/  Trailer audio used under fair usage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZwLYEVUK8 (Prime Video). 

In this episode we examine some 19th century chemical warfare plans, which were a prelude to the first large scale use of gas warfare in WW1.    Book link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Admirals-Secret-Weapon-Dundonald-Stephenson/dp/B017AJTSBU 

In this episode, I am joined by Charles Stephenson, who discusses the use of chemical weapons by Italian invaders in the war against Ethiopia in the campaign of 1935-6.  You can find the book he recently published on this topic here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mussolini-Mustard-Gas-Fascist-Way/dp/1399051660 

The second of our movie review specials. This one looking at The Rock (1996).    With Steve Johnson https://x.com/CBRNEsteve?t=_sSXmOA7t4xGzvcW8TUYPA&s=09   I do not own the rights to the trialer used here  under fair use.        Epic rap battles  https://youtu.be/_wYtG7aQTHA?si=RltWpU_VOW9xwvHh

In our first ever movie review special, Dr Saskia Popescu reviews the classics Contagion (2011) and Outbreak (1995).  This episode was edited and produced by the wonderful Nicolas Lureau 

In this episode we consider the long and complex history of Riot Control Agents- from the first world war, to the battlefields of modern Ukraine.  There is also a list of recent statements below made in the context of the OPCW on the Ukraine issue:    https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023/11/29-11-2023%20CSP-28%20_Statement%20Germany%20agenda%209d%20RCA%20_0.pdf   https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024/01/Combined%20Canadian%20statement%20on%20Subitem%209d.pdf   https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023/11/CSP_28_National%20Statement_Ukraine_OPCW_CW_English.pdf             audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLNMKRqOrMo  

In this episode I discuss the emergence of OSINT and Bellingcat- with a focus on work related to chemical weapons.    Sources: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/have-chemical-weapons-been-used-ukraine   Book  https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=bellingcat+book&adgrpid=1172080294039072&hvadid=73255220590861&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=41801&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-73255153838822%3Aloc-188&hydadcr=10776_2102372&tag=mh0a9-21&ref=pd_sl_6o2ld96ezj_e   Bellingcat investigations  https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/10/23/russias-clandestine-chemical-weapons-programme-and-the-grus-unit-21955/   https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020/01/15/the-opcw-douma-leaks-part-1-we-need-to-talk-about-alex/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/09/20/skripal-suspects-confirmed-gru-operatives-prior-european-operations-disclosed/ https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/10/22/russian-vehicle-registration-leak-reveals-additional-gru-hackers/     Ukraine riot control agent allegations    Media sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-cJu-6QFC8   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQ604MWZTQ  

In this episode, we examine the development of the French CBW programme  post WW-2  Etienne Aucouturier (2023) Biological Warfare. Another French Connection https://materiologiques.com/en/histoire-des-sciences-et-des-techniques/303-biological-warfare-the-french-conection-9782373612394.html  Olivier Lepick (2008) French Military biological programme, 1947-1972 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299105068_French_Military_biological_programme_1947-1972   

In this episode, I interview Professor Alastair Hay about his work as a toxicologist related to the prohibition of chemical weapons.         

Karl Dewey (2022) Poisonous affairs: Russia's evolving use of poisons in targeted killings https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/poisonous-affairs-russias-evolving-use-of-poisons-in-targeted-kil  https://twitter.com/KarlDewey1    Audio credit: Clip BBC 

A history of the foundation of the French BW programme. You can find a list of Etienne's publications here: https://irfu.cea.fr/Pisp/etienne.aucouturier/

In this episode, we examine the western gunpowder revolution and consider ideas for poison weapons which were outlined at this time in numerous military manuals.  I am very grateful for the input from:  the stupendous Seth Carus, the amazing Anna Roessing, the unbelievable Una Jacob, the awe-inspiring Alexander Samuel, the terrific Tonio Andrade, and the remarkable Rainer Leng.   Show notes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

In this episode we examine preparations by the US in the advent of Operation Desert Storm (2003) for dealing with what was believed at the time to have been a large Iraqi CBW capability- with Al Mauroni.  Further reading:  A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja (2007) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poisonous-Affair-America-Gassing-Halabja/dp/0521876869 Al Mauroni publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3sj1svAAAAAJ  The UNSCOM Saga: Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation (Global Issues) (2000) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unscom-Saga-Chemical-Biological-Non-Proliferation/dp/0312229593  The Search for Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Inspection, Verification and Non-Proliferation (2005) https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Search_For_Iraq_s_Weapons_of_Mass_De/Q7hvQgAACAAJ?hl=en  Saddams Secrets: The Hunt for Iraq's Hidden Weapons (1999)  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Saddams_Secrets/Rk0hAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Saddam%27s%20WMD%20weapon%20inspector%20%20trevan Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? The Debate at 20 Years (2023)  https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/120569    Media Credits:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYURE58xBPE&t=548s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ6qpFpIFkY&t=243s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRJi_M2T6kc  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htAWpu59bUA&t=1s     

The latest installment- covering the spread of gunpowder west, via the Mongols.  Show notes available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing 

You can check out Glenn's book here: Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare 1975-1980 - Glenn Cross - Google Books   We didn't have time to cover the smaller and largely exploratory BW aspect of this programme but hopefully we will in s future episode.    Audio clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrD4XJcOw4 

You can find a link to Simon's work on this subject over at https://simonjoneshistorian.com/2019/08/27/first-air-dropped-cw/ 

Image and sound from the US national archives.    Check out Reid's website over at Military Historian - Reid Kirby

In this episode we examine the impact of the development of gunpowder on chemical and biological warfare. We focus on China in the 9th -16th centuries. Next week we follow the spread of gunpowder west.    Show notes are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing     

In this episode Dan discusses his work examining the life of Edmund Tilly. After WW2 Tilly interrogated those involved in the German chemical warfare programme- which was the first to develop and produce a nerve agent ' Tabun'- on a large scale.    Sound Credits:  This clip is from the 1963 film, Nerve Agents, available at the national Archives.  Video found on this amazing Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/markdcatlin/videos 

During World War II, the Polish resistance movement used chemical and biological weapons (CBW) against the Third Reich. The use of CBW against the Third Reich most likely originated in a secret Polish biological-weapons program, which existed in the 1930s and went underground after the September 1939 German invasion. Between 1940 and 1942, a unit of the Polish resistance movement named WKZO (Wielkopolskie Kierownictwo Związku Odwetu—the Greater Poland Leadership of the Union of Retaliation) conducted CBW sabotage in the German-annexed area Reichsgau Wartheland and its main city Posen (today's Poznań).  In this episode we examine this group with Robert Peterson.    You can find Robert's paper on the subject here:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10736700.2020.1866321    sound clip credit: https://youtu.be/pw2PenZYBuw 

Won't be long until we are back looking at poison arrows, toxic smoke, water poisoning and the laws of war from the 13th to the 18th century.  Drop me a line if you have ideas for the show! 

In this episode, we look at transitions in Chemical and Biological defence in the British army between the tail end of the Cold War and the Gulf War. We talk about noddy suits- and I didn't make a joke about being cold once. Be sure to say hello to Gareth on Twitter ( especially if you like tanks)    I do not own the media clips, they can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsUcz2Bh1z4vWjI9zM15qbb43sVPl7LeX Icon image lifted from NBC field manual (1983) Crown Copyright- https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=2005-04-25-5    

Hello! And welcome to episode 7 of the poisons and pestilence podcast- If you buboe me by now. Now I had a great time putting together the last two specials- and I hope you enjoyed them. However, it is high time we returned to our trundle through the history of biological and chemical warfare. As you will recall, in earlier episodes, we have been covering some pretty vast time periods. But we are not beginning to become a little more granular in the storytelling.  In this episode, we cover a mere eight centuries- from around the fall of the Roman Empire ( around the 5th Century ) to the black death of the mid-14th century.     You can find the show notes here:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

You can check out the Declassified MOD film on the Lyme Bay Trials here (a clip of this appears in the show audio) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTwQJ1ASyws&t=302s    You can also check out various documentaries and excerpts of  press coverage of the Zinc Cadmium and Lyme Bay Trials produced when these issues first hit the headlines over at https://www.youtube.com/user/experimentsrus/featured    INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE POSSIBLE HEALTH HAZARDS OF THE LARGE-SCALE RELEASE OF BACTERIA DURING THE DORSET DEFENCE TRIALS Professor Brian G. Spratt FRS, Wellcome Trust Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, University of Oxford. https://zeltus.eu/mre/downloads/dorset_bacteria_trials.pdf   Zinc Cadmium Sulphide Dispersion Trials Report by the Academy of Medical Sciences to the Chief Scientific Adviser, Ministry of Defence on the Zinc Cadmium Sulphide dispersion trials undertaken in the United Kingdom between 1953 and 1964. December 1999  https://acmedsci.ac.uk/file-download/34958-ZincCadm.pdf   For a recent historical appraisal of these issues, other open-air trials in the UK- as well as public and technical/ expert discourse on these matters see also:  Ulf Schmidt ( 2015)  Secret Science, Chapter 7.   

Welcome to the first-ever bonus episode of the poisons and pestilence podcast!   This episode is the first in a two-part special on large area biological weapon simulant trials, carried out in the UK during the Cold War. In this episode, we focus on work carried out by scientists from Porton Down up until the mid -1960's- which involved the spread of zinc cadmium sulphide over vast swathes of the UK. In part two of this special, we will take a deeper dive into the ‘Lyme Bay Trials' which involved the use of bacteria, including E.coli in open-air trials over populated areas during the 1960s and 1970s. In the second show, we will also examine the political fall-out of experiments these experiments, when they started coming to broader public attention in the 1990s.   Further resources Mike Kenner YouTube channel  https://www.youtube.com/user/experimentsrus Rob Evans (2000) ‘Gassed' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gassed-Behind-Scenes-Porton-Down/dp/1842320718 Brian Balmer ( 2001) Britain and Biological Warfare https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Britain_and_Biological_Warfare/GGWJDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=brian+balmer&printsec=frontcover Brian Balmer (2016) Secrecy and Science  https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Secrecy_and_Science/KrreCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Brian+balmer+2016&pg=PT3&printsec=frontcover Peter Hammond and Gordon Carter ( 2000) From Biological Warfare to Healthcare https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/From_Biological_Warfare_to_Healthcare/UTwGDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=porton+down+history+carter&printsec=frontcover

This episode we're going to be looking at the time- period between roughly 1 AD and 500AD.  As we continue our trundle through the history of chemical and biological weapons and warfare   You can check out the show notes here:    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

In Episode 3, we examine the history of biological and chemical warfare from 1000BC to 1AD   You can check out sources and show notes at:   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing  

In Episode 2, we continue our discussion of pre-historic biological warfare Check out the show notes for this episode here   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing   

The first episode covers the pre-history of poison arrows- check out the show notes here:   https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

Hello! Welcome to The Poisons and Pestilence Podcast!