Dr. Céline Goundermedical correspondent, CBS News · physician, epidemiologist, medical journalist

Trailer: Epidemic Season 2 — Eradicating Smallpox

6 Jul 2023 · 1 min

Episode

6 Jul 2023 · 1 min

0:00

In this trailer for the second season of the podcast series "Epidemic," host Dr. Celine Gounder introduces listeners to the historic campaign that eradicated smallpox in India and Bangladesh fifty years ago. Through brief, vivid excerpts from interviewees, the trailer highlights the grueling fieldwork—crossing leech‑infested paddy fields, navigating community resistance, and employing fresh, tactical approaches—to achieve what many thought impossible: the complete removal of a virus that had plagued humanity for millennia. The narrative frames this triumph as a singular public‑health victory that has not been replicated since, and poses a central question: can modern public‑health leaders dream big enough to achieve similarly ambitious goals today. The trailer ends with a call to imagine a world where societal structures prioritize care and health.

Chapters

Bangladesh 50 years ago. Global health leaders were on the cusp of something big. Something many doctors and scientists thought might be impossible.
The one disease that can be eradicated from the Earth.
Smallpox, a virus as old as recorded history, had been wiped from the planet.
Absolutely and forever.
It was grueling work.
Occasionally you have to park your motorcycle, take your shoes and socks off, and walk across a leech-infested paddy field to get to the next case.
It demanded fresh ideas.
The standard way of doing things is not going to get us anywhere.
But we did it. It was one of humanity's greatest triumphs, and one public health has not been able to repeat.
If there was a virus like smallpox today, there's zero chance of eradicating it.
I'm Dr. Celine Gounder. I'm a physician and epidemiologist. On this season of Epidemic, we're going to India and Bangladesh, to the last days of smallpox, to learn how health workers beat the virus.
You can't just barge into a community. You have to go gradually, with tact, with patience.
People were pleading to get vaccinated. People were really alarmed. They wanted vaccination.
The question I'm asking: how can we dream big in public health again?
Can we imagine a world in which our lives actually matter and we structure our society around the care that we need?
From KFF Health News and Just Human Productions, a new podcast: Epidemic: Eradicating Smallpox. Coming this summer. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.