By Oct 1918, The deadly flu pandemic was in full swing. Almost all theatres across the US had shut their doors. All except in New York, where health commissioner, Royal Copeland, had a different strategy in mind. Did it pay off? In this episode we explore debates surrounding the necessity of cultural life during the flu pandemic of 1918 - debates that have been pervasive during the current pandemic as well.

Episode credits:    Created by: Farhad Mirza and Declan Mee Guest Contributors: Gwendolien Sabbe and Laura Colins-Hughes Research: Farhad Mirza and Heleen De Boever Script: Farhad Mirza and Declan Mee Music: Farhad Mirza and Raphael Giraldi Sound Design and Editing: Farhad Mirza and Federico Lenzi Voice Overs: Elena Livorni and Frank Alongi     Sources and suggested readings:

https://circusdistrict.com/2020/1918-circus-and-flu/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/the-flu-pandemic-of-1918-and-early-conspiracy-theories#A-perpetually-foreign-plague

https://art-wellbeing.eu/research-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-theatre-quarterly/article/how-theatre-encourages-wellbeing-and-can-engage-a-wider-audience/8E6CDBFDC735E20E2EA7C8EE3CDF68F7

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/11/17/98275182.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2862336/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/theater/spanish-flu-1918-new-york-theater.html