Pandemic on the Prairie
13 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsA podcast about the intersection of public health, cultural history, and war in Kansas. School closures, mask mandates, infection waves, front line workers, debates over the disease’s origin, disparities in health care access, quarantine fatigue. All of these descriptions could easily apply to both current times and a century ago. In the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic, many have started looking back to the last global health catastrophe of this magnitude - the 1918 influenza pandemic, also known as the “Spanish flu”. Approximately 50 million people globally, including 675,000 Americans and over 12,000 Kansans, died of this strain of influenza between 1918-1920. “Pandemic on the Prairie” tells the stories of Kansas and Kansans during this tumultuous time of both a World War and a global pandemic. Through learning about our past, we hope to better engage with the present.
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Episodes
A Tale of Two Kansas Cities
August 31, 2021 15:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBThe invisible line that runs through the middle of Kansas City may be an important political boundary, but in 1918, like today, diseases do not respect these human divides. This episode compares the Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO responses to the flu pandemic, including differences in business closures, compliance, and other “social distancing” measures. We’ll also look at the politics behind these differences, especially the operations of the Kansas City, MO democratic political machin...
Samuel Crumbine, Public Health Pioneer
June 11, 2021 19:00 - 48 minutes - 33.3 MBSamuel Crumbine was a physician and public health pioneer known throughout Kansas and the nation for his evidence-based methods of promoting food safety, sanitation, and combating communicable diseases. Many Kansans may still tread on his “Don’t Spit on the Sidewalk” bricks or have heard his catchy “swat the fly” campaign. he also helped Kansas navigate the 1918-1920 flu pandemic as secretary of health. But Crumbine has a “darker” legacy of supporting eugenics policies that imprisoned women ...
We're Back!
June 11, 2021 18:00 - 1 minute - 799 KBWe're sorry for the hiatus between episodes, but we're back with new episodes starting now. A teaser of some of the new content coming up. Also, we've been named one of the Top 10 Spanish Flu Podcasts by Feedspot! Check out their list for other great podcasts about the history of the influenza pandemic.
Mini-episode: A History of the Haskell Institute
January 21, 2021 19:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MBKansas is home to Haskell Indian Nations University, today the premier institution of higher education for Native Americans in the United States. However, Haskell has a long and complicated history, including experiencing two deadly outbreaks of the 1918 influenza pandemic (as told in Episode 3). In this mini-episode, we talk with Prof. Eric Anderson, chair of the Indigenous and American Indian Studies Department at Haskell Indian Nations University and an expert on the history of the instit...
3. The Other Haskell
December 06, 2020 22:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBJust weeks after the March 1918 “first wave” flu outbreak at Camp Funston, the Haskell Institute in Lawrence saw a similar rash of influenza infections. Around one-third of the Native American students were hospitalized, and 17 died. In this episode, we’ll talk to historian Mikaëla Adams about this early outbreak of the 1918 flu at the Haskell Institute. And we’ll examine the larger context of Indian boarding schools in the U.S. and the failure of public health programs for Native Americans....
The Other Haskell
December 06, 2020 22:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBJust weeks after the March 1918 “first wave” flu outbreak at Camp Funston, the Haskell Institute in Lawrence saw a similar rash of influenza infections. Around one-third of the Native American students were hospitalized, and 17 died. In this episode, we’ll talk to historian Mikaëla Adams about this early outbreak of the 1918 flu at the Haskell Institute. And we’ll examine the larger context of Indian boarding schools in the U.S. and the failure of public health programs for Native Americans....
Mini-Episode 1: Dr. Loring Miner
November 10, 2020 16:00 - 13 minutes - 9.17 MBIn this mini-episode, we tell the story of Dr. Loring Miner, a physician in Haskell County in southwest Kansas who, in early 1918, may have encountered the first outbreak of the flu pandemic. Dr. Miner was a little different than the stereotypical country doctor. Dr. Miner was "gruff" and one who "didn't suffer fools," but he also was extremely dedicated to his practice, traveling over hundreds of square miles to attend to patients. He loved the classics and read the great works of Greek lit...
Mini-Episode: Dr. Loring Miner
November 10, 2020 16:00 - 13 minutes - 9.17 MBIn this mini-episode, we tell the story of Dr. Loring Miner, a physician in Haskell County in southwest Kansas who, in early 1918, may have encountered the first outbreak of the flu pandemic. Dr. Miner was a little different than the stereotypical country doctor. Dr. Miner was "gruff" and one who "didn't suffer fools," but he also was extremely dedicated to his practice, traveling over hundreds of square miles to attend to patients. He loved the classics and read the great works of Greek lit...
2. The Kansas Flu?
November 03, 2020 15:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBDid the deadly 1918-1920 influenza pandemic begin in Kansas? While this pandemic is often called the “Spanish flu”, there is a strong possibility it originated in Camp Funston, a training camp for WWI recruits at Fort Riley. We will follow the paper trail to trace the origins of this theory. So how did it get to Camp Funston? To help answer this question, we’ll talk with historian John Barry about his work on the Kansas origins of the flu pandemic. Finally, we’ll explore the question of why ...
The Kansas Flu?
November 03, 2020 15:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBDid the deadly 1918-1920 influenza pandemic begin in Kansas? While this pandemic is often called the “Spanish flu”, there is a strong possibility it originated in Camp Funston, a training camp for WWI recruits at Fort Riley. We will follow the paper trail to trace the origins of this theory. So how did it get to Camp Funston? To help answer this question, we’ll talk with historian John Barry about his work on the Kansas origins of the flu pandemic. Finally, we’ll explore the question of why ...
Introducing Pandemic on the Prairie
October 09, 2020 15:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBWelcome to Pandemic on the Prairie, a podcast about the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Kansas and what local stories tell us about the American experience more broadly. But before we explore local stories, for this episode we zoom out and get an introduction to what was happening a century ago. Why was this influenza pandemic was so deadly, how did it affect people across the country (in fact, across the world), and what are some of the ways in which it was remembered - and forgotten - by A...
Episode 1 - Introducing Pandemic on the Prairie
October 09, 2020 15:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBWelcome to Pandemic on the Prairie, a podcast about the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Kansas and what local stories tell us about the American experience more broadly. But before we explore local stories, for this episode we zoom out and get an introduction to what was happening a century ago. Why was this influenza pandemic was so deadly, how did it affect people across the country (in fact, across the world), and what are some of the ways in which it was remembered - and forgotten - by A...
1. Introducing Pandemic on the Prairie
October 09, 2020 15:00 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBWelcome to Pandemic on the Prairie, a podcast about the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Kansas and what local stories tell us about the American experience more broadly. But before we explore local stories, for this episode we zoom out and get an introduction to what was happening a century ago. Why was this influenza pandemic was so deadly, how did it affect people across the country (in fact, across the world), and what are some of the ways in which it was remembered - and forgotten - by A...