AUDIO ONLY: What caused the black plague? Recent research shows us many of our assumptions may be incorrect. Two of our favorite renowned professors explore the impact of this new discovery, discuss alternatives to how it might have spread, and what all this new information means.

1: The Black Death: Did Humans Spread the Plague?

• AUDIO ONLY It’s been long considered that rats and fleas were the culprit of how the plague spread so devastatingly fast, but scholars have considered for some time that they couldn’t have been the main reason. New discoveries are suggesting another method of human-to-human transmission—one we still deal with in modern days. Two of our favorite renowned professors—one an expert in the time, the other an authority in biology—explore the old theories, new discoveries and their own takes on this issue. Hear Dorsey Armstrong share her thoughts on how the black plague could be related to a hemorrhagic outbreak or a naturally occurring poison in our earth. Then, hear Bruce Fleury share his take on the new theories, based in the science of how germs spread. Although each new theory brings up all new questions, hearing these authorities weigh-in with alternating viewpoints, different perspectives, and based in different areas of expertise is enlightening just in itself.