Episode 119 - Yellow Fever and Climate with Keith Pluymers

Infectious Historians

Keith Pluymers (Illinois State University) comes on the show to talk about his work on late 18th century Philadelphia in the context of yellow fever and climate. After the introductory remarks and the personal updates, Keith begins with a discussion of the Anthropocene and its broader relevance as well as its connection to his field of studies. He continues to discuss climate and disease in the New World, as well as in the context of how science and empirical measurements were done in the past. Keith provides several examples that demonstrate how 18th century people believed they could exert some influence over the weather, atmosphere or even climate. This then ties into the yellow fever discussion, which he contextualizes within the broader discourse in Philadelphia but also broader trans-Atlantic discourse.