Lessons from Past Pandemics with "The Great Influenza" author John Barry

July 23, 2020

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About the Guest

John Barry

Author of The Great Influenza

John Barry is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, a 2004 book on the last global pandemic, the 1918 so-called Spanish Flu. Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the book is a bestseller again, 11 years after its original release. John is also the author of Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America.

Episode Overview

In this interview, we discuss

The main similarities and differences between an influenza virus and coronavirus
How COVID-19 impacts older individuals while the 1918 virus largely impacted younger individuals
How the United States and many European countries seeked to cover up the 1918 virus
How contracting the 1918 virus clouded Woodrow Wilson’s judgement at the Treaty of Versailles
The critical importance of honesty and transparency of leadership in the face of this crisis
The failures of the federal government in its response to COVID-19

Among a variety of other topics.

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“"Another huge difference is the duration. The incubation period for the influenza virus was one to four days. Most people get sick at two. The coronavirus is 2 to 14 days. Most people get sick a little over five, you're sick longer, and you shed virus longer.""