Throughout history, humanity has faced down disease and disaster. This season, Countermeasures traces the arc of public health crises and bioterrorism events across centuries, from the Black Death to the 2001 Anthrax attacks. We dig into how societies responded in the moment, what those responses reveal in hindsight, and what we still need to learn. Each episode uncovers the science and the human decisions behind our fight against health threats, and asks what it will take to be ready for the next one. Brought to you by Emergent, a leading public health company that delivers protective and life-saving solutions to communities around the world.
This episode traces botulism from a misunderstood toxin to a modern medical mystery, exploring how the same poison shows up in home-canned fish, honey, infant formula, and cosmetic injections, why doctors so often miss the diagnosis, and what survival, and its lasting aftermath, actually looks like for the people who live through it.
Guests:
Dr. Jane Talkington (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-talkington/): Botulism historian and author
Dr. Steve Abrams (https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/steven-a-abrams): Pediatrician and researcher specializing in infant nutrition and food regulation; co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics textbook on pediatric nutrition
Michael Christy: Botulism survivor
23 Sept 2026
Beyond Rats and Fleas: The Real Story of the Black Plague
This episode traces the Black Death from its origins in Central Asia to its devastating sweep across Eurasia, exploring how trade, migration, and war fueled its spread, how medieval communities responded with early quarantine measures, and what skeletal evidence reveals about who suffered most.
Guests:
Philip Slavin: (https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/951608) Professor of Medieval and Environmental History, University of Stirling; co-leads the Plague Synergy Project
Sharon DeWitte (https://www.colorado.edu/anthropology/sharon-dewitte): Professor, Department of Anthropology and Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder; specializes in bioarchaeology and mortality crises of the medieval period
16 Sept 2026
Ebola: Same Virus, New Rules
This episode covers the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, now the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. We compare it to the more familiar Zaire strain and to the 2014 West Africa outbreak, looking at what's different about this virus and how it's spreading. We also examine how the global public health response has evolved since 2014, and where old gaps and failures are still showing up.
Guests:
Dr Michael Osterholm (https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/michael-t-osterholm-phd-mph), Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota
Dr. Mark Kortepeter, (https://genevausa.org/about/leadership-in-military-medicine/scientific-advisory-board/mark-g-kortepeter/) a physician who spent nearly three decades in Army biodefense
Dr Tom Carpino (https://globalhealth.duke.edu/people/carpino-tom), Hock Fellow at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.6 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
14 ratings
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