# Special Episode: Dr. Olivia Weisser & The Dreaded Pox

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711/special-episode-dr-olivia-weisser-the-dreaded-pox
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711/special-episode-dr-olivia-weisser-the-dreaded-pox.md
Podcast: [This Podcast Will Kill You](https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711)
Published: 2026-05-12T07:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://omny.fm/shows/this-podcast-will-kill-you/special-episode-dr-olivia-weisser-the-dreaded-pox
Audio file: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/e0709a39-232b-4483-8e4f-b24c0111ae2c/c15cb07f-7c3c-4051-a074-b43c00f509f1/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=64b4c224-562e-4b2f-9f31-b24c0111ae53
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/this-podcast-will-kill-you-226711/episodes/special-episode-dr-olivia-weisser-the-dreaded-pox
Duration seconds: 3062

## Resource

In a time when smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, and typhus ran rampant through the streets of London, there was another disease that instilled even more fear than these other killers: syphilis. So feared and so stigmatized was syphilis that it was sometimes called “the secret disease.” A diagnosis would not only sentence you to a drawn-out and painful illness possibly resulting in death, it also labeled you as an outcast and not fit for polite company. Skyrocketing infection rates drove a corresponding rise in syphilis “cures” and an increasingly desperate public. In this TPWKY book club episode,  Dr. Olivia Weisser , associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Boston joins me to discuss her recent book The Dreaded Pox: Sex and Disease in Early Modern London . She transports readers to the hidden shops and stalls that promised a remedy to this feared disease, to the courthouses where a syphilis infection was an important piece of evidence, and to the country houses that held recipe books for those who could not purchase a cure. Tune in for a fascinating glimpse into a time and place where morality, sex, and disease were so strongly entangled. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3WwtIAu See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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## Transcript

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