logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2020
21m 58s

The Village of Heroes

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

It looked like any ordinary roll of cloth, but it brought the dreaded plague to the village of Eyam. First it killed the tailor, then resident after resident succumbed. To stop the spread of the disease to neighbouring towns the people of Eyam agreed to isolate themselves and let the plague run its deadly course. This terrible act of sacrifice is still remembered centuries later - but what does it tell us about how far people will go to save the lives of strangers?

Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/

Tim's latest books 'Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy' and 'The Next Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy' are available now.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Presenting Heavyweight: Etta
<p>I'm excited to share an episode from another podcast, <a href="https://lnk.to/CT_HWDrop_112525">Heavyweight</a>, a new addition to the Pushkin slate of shows. Heavyweight, hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, creates space for difficult conversations and resolving long-standing regre ... Show More
37m 32s
Nov 21
Kyoto: The Battle that Defined Climate Politics - with Joe Robertson
<p>Misinformation, double-dealing, character assassination - lobbyist Don Pearlman will stop at nothing to prevent the world from agreeing to cut carbon emissions. This arch disrupter, who works for fossil fuel companies and oil-producing nations, is determined that the climate t ... Show More
39m 19s
Nov 18
Presenting: Twenty Thousand Hertz
<p>When Satanic Panic ripped through America, rock music was in the crosshairs. Could songs contain secret backwards messages urging children to take drugs and worship the devil?</p> <p>This special episode is from Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast all about the rich world of soun ... Show More
29m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2019
The Obscure Virus Club
Throughout the 1960s, a biologist named Howard Temin became convinced that something wasn’t right in science’s understanding of viruses. His colleagues dismissed him as a heretic. He turned out to be right — and you're alive today as a result.  Season Four ends with a bedtime sto ... Show More
36m 3s
Feb 2024
Strange News: New Cryptid Just Dropped, Chernobyl's Wolves, A Lawyer Saves The Day
A new study shows wolves in Chernobyl have developed resistance to cancer. A scammer tries to refinance house behind owner’s back, lawyer saves the day. Shocking new research reveals human beings are host to a previously-unknown, bizarre collection of life forms called "obelisks" ... Show More
54m 43s
Oct 2017
SYMHC Classics: New England Vampire Panic
<p>Today, in honor of Halloween weekend, we're revisiting an episode about vampirism. Starting in the late 1700s and, small rural communities in New England were sometimes stricken with a panicked fear that the dead were feeding off the living.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your a ... Show More
37m 53s
Oct 2021
New England versus Vampires, Part One: The Brutal, Terrifying Life of Early Colonists
<p>While historians continue to explore the details of the infamous Salem witch trials, another, earlier panic swept through New England -- something modern historians often refer to as the "Vampire Panic." In part one of this two-part series, Ben is joined again with guest host ... Show More
37m 21s
Sep 21
[ARCHIVES] Le Mystère du Lac Angikuni : le village disparu
En cette fin novembre 1930, le blizzard souffle et ravage le Nunavut, territoire désolé au nord-ouest du Canada. Au cœur de la tempête se débat Joseph Labelle, un trappeur qui ferait bien de trouver refuge avant la tombée de la nuit et de la température. Fort heureusement, l’homm ... Show More
9m 54s
Sep 2021
The Black Death
In October 1347, a ghostly fleet of trading ships docks at a port in Sicily. The crew members – dead already, or well on their way – bear bubonic plague. The ‘Great Pestilence’ will ravage the populations of three continents over the next decade. What changes to society will resu ... Show More
52m 22s
Dec 2021
The Legend of the Thunderbird
<p>For millennia, indigenous communities in North America and other parts of the world told stories of a gigantic, predatory bird with the ability to alter the weather, punish the wicked, and sometimes aid the righteous. In the modern day, most people consider these bits of folkl ... Show More
57m 50s
Feb 2024
Introducing: Consumed from Grim & Mild
Hi, Haunted Road fans! iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild are excited to tell you about Consumed - a brand new fiction thriller that we think will... consume you! Don't believe us? Check out this trailer to see for yourself. When you're done, head on over to Consumed starting 1/31 fo ... Show More
2m 48s
Feb 2022
146. Disease vs. the rise of civilisation
The way we die has been utterly transformed. There have been around 10,000 generations of human beings, but only in the last 3 or 4 have infectious diseases not been an expected and accepted cause of death. What drove the most deadly infectious diseases? Was technological progr ... Show More
39m 40s
Oct 2021
Plagues of our past
From when our ancestors first mastered fire to the rise of modern cities, humanity’s progress has been accompanied by a revolving door of parasites, bacteria and viruses, wreaking havoc on our health. Kyle Harper, author of Plagues Upon the Earth, discusses the sprawling history ... Show More
56m 53s