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The Facts And The Fiction Of Pandemic

Ryan Caron King
/
Connecticut Public
Cherry Blossoms and Coronavirus

A group of health officials gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss infectious disease learn that forty-seven people at an internment camp in Indonesia have died from acute hemorrhagic fever.

This is how Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, begins his new novel that in many ways, predicts the pandemic we're currently experiencing. He joins us to talk about it. 

Before we get to the fiction of pandemic, we speak with an epidemiologist about the reality of our current pandemic. 

GUESTS: 

  • Michael Mina is an assistant professor of epidemiology and faculty member at the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (@michaelmina_lab)
  • Lawrence Wright is an author, screenwriter, playwright, and a staff writer for The New Yorker. His book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2007. His most recent book is The End of October, a novel about a pandemic. (@lawrence_wright)

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to today's show. 

Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

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