The COVID-19 pandemic may have felt like an unprecedented time. But in the course of human history, plagues and pandemics have not only been the norm, they've actually been the main driver of our evolution from the rise of homo sapiens and Christianity to the advent of colonialism. That's the provocative argument in sociologist Jonathan Kennedy's new book, Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues. Kennedy teaches politics and global public health at Queen Mary University of London, and he joins guest host Robyn Bresnahan to explain how germs shape our past, present and future.
What does a harp sound like when it’s being strummed atop a dormant volcano, at an altitude of 5,895 metres? “It sounds like heaven,” Irish harpist Siobhán Brady said.