Pandemics Porn

Delicious, smart reads about dangerous, nasty germs.

Modern-Day Typhoid Marys

Superspreaders can turn a minor outbreak into a pandemic.

The Worst Pandemic in History

After years of sometimes bizarre research, why are scientists still baffled by the 1918 Spanish flu?

Dengue, aka “Breakbone Fever,” Is Back

The vicious virus has re-established itself in the South, and mosquitoes are carrying it north.

Fear the Fungus

Fungi thrive in environmental chaos, and they are coming for us.

The Flu Vaccine Controversy

Are drug companies really more dangerous than the flu virus?

The Invention of an Illness

Fatty liver disease has gone from unknown to pandemic, but does it mean anything?

Napoleon Wasn’t Defeated by the Russians

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture gives too much credit to cannons.

Past Pandemics Are in Our Genes

What koalas can teach us about human evolution and disease.

What Is the World’s Most Dangerous Animal?

Sharks? Lions? Grizzly bears? Try bats.