The Infuriatingly Sad Tale of "Typhoid Mary" PART TWO

The Infuriatingly Sad Tale of "Typhoid Mary" PART TWO

In 1910, Mary Mallon walked out of quarantine under one condition: she could never work as a cook again. By 1915, she was back in a Manhattan hospital kitchen under the name Mary Brown, and a new typhoid outbreak had infected 25 people and killed two. This episode concludes the story of “Typhoid Mary,” the asymptomatic carrier whose choices turned a public health crisis into a legal and ethical battleground. Part two follows Mary’s broken parole, the Sloane Maternity Hospital outbreak, her second arrest, and the decades she spent confined on North Brother Island. We look at disease, quarantine, civil liberties, media panic, gender bias, immigration, and why Mary Mallon’s case still echoes through every modern debate about public health and personal freedom. ......................................... Links: Email: timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com [timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com] Website: timeandtalespodcast.com [http://timeandtalespodcast.com] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere [https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere] ..................................... Sources: Leavitt, Judith Walzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health. Beacon Press, 1996. Soper, George A. “The Work of a Chronic Typhoid Germ Distributor.” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 48, no. 24, 1907, pp. 2019–2022. Soper, George A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, vol. 15, no. 10, 1939, pp. 698–712. Baker, Sara Josephine. Fighting for Life. Macmillan, 1939. Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. Bloomsbury, 2001. Mallon, Mary. “Typhoid Mary Speaks for Herself.” New York American, 1909. Marineli, Filio, et al. “Mary Mallon (1869–1938) and the History of Typhoid Fever.” Annals of Gastroenterology, vol. 26, no. 2, 2013, pp. 132–134. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene records on Mary Mallon, North Brother Island, and typhoid carrier policy. Library of Congress. “Typhoid Mary: Topics in Chronicling America.”

The Infuriatingly Sad Tale of "Typhoid Mary" PART ONE

In early 1900s New York, a cook named Mary Mallon moved from one wealthy household to another while typhoid followed in her wake. This episode begins the story of “Typhoid Mary”: the Irish immigrant cook who seemed perfectly healthy, the baffling outbreaks that struck rich families instead of slums, and the medical investigation that changed public health history by identifying one of America’s first known asymptomatic carriers. Part one follows Mary’s rise as a private cook, the trail of typhoid cases linked to her kitchens, George Soper’s hunt to prove she was spreading the disease, and the explosive confrontation that ended with her forced quarantine on North Brother Island. It’s a story about disease, class, immigration, fear, and the moment modern epidemiology collided with one woman’s life. ............................................ Links: Website: timeandtalespodcast.com [http://timeandtalespodcast.com] Email: timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com [timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com] Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere [https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere] ............................................... Sources: * Leavitt, Judith Walzer. Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health. Beacon Press, 1996. * Soper, George A. “The Work of a Chronic Typhoid Germ Distributor.” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 48, no. 24, 1907, pp. 2019–2022. * Soper, George A. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, vol. 15, no. 10, 1939, pp. 698–712. * Baker, Sara Josephine. Fighting for Life. Macmillan, 1939. * Bourdain, Anthony. Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. Bloomsbury, 2001. * Mallon, Mary. “Typhoid Mary Speaks for Herself.” New York American, 1909. * Marineli, Filio, et al. “Mary Mallon (1869–1938) and the History of Typhoid Fever.” Annals of Gastroenterology, vol. 26, no. 2, 2013, pp. 132–134. * New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene records on Mary Mallon, North Brother Island, and typhoid carrier policy. * Library of Congress. “Typhoid Mary: Topics in Chronicling America.”

Little Murder Boots: Caligula PART TWO

In this second part of our Caligula series, Rome’s young emperor stops pretending to be merciful. We follow the purge of rivals and family members, the humiliation of the Senate, the money drain of spectacles and forced taxes, the horse-consul insult, the Jerusalem crisis, and the escalating paranoia that turned the palace into a death trap. This episode covers Caligula at his most volatile: the sisters, the treasury, the Bay of Baiae, the failed northern campaign, the execution of Ptolemy of Mauretania, and the final conspiracy inside the Praetorian Guard that ended his reign in blood. It’s the back half of one of Rome’s darkest imperial stories, where absolute power finally pushes too far. ............................. Links: Website: timeandtalespodcast.com [http://timeandtalespodcast.com] Email: timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com [timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere [https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere] ............................... Sources: Suetonius. “The Life of Caligula.” The Twelve Caesars. Cassius Dio. Roman History, Book 59. Philo of Alexandria. On the Embassy to Gaius. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 19. “Caligula.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Barrett, Anthony A. Caligula: The Abuse of Power. Routledge, 2015. Winterling, Aloys. Caligula: A Biography. University of California Press, 2011. Katz, Robert S. “The Illness of Caligula.” The Classical World, 1972. Charry-Sánchez, Jorge D., et al. “Caligula: A Neuropsychiatric Explanation of His Madness.” Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 2021. Shotter, David. Caligula. Routledge, 2004.

Little Murder Boots: Caligula PART ONE

This episode follows Caligula from “Little Boots,” the adored son of Germanicus, to one of the most infamous rulers in Roman history: his rise under Tiberius, the illness that changed his reign, the deaths of rivals and family members, the war with the Senate, and the assassination that ended his dynasty. In AD 37, Rome welcomed a young emperor from one of its most famous bloodlines, the son of Germanicus and heir to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Less than four years later, Caligula was dead—cut down by his own guards in a palace corridor after a reign marked by executions, humiliation, divine pretensions, and growing terror at the center of imperial power. ............................................. Links: Website: timeandtalespodcast.com [http://timeandtalespodcast.com] Email: timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com [timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com] Video Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere [https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere] ............................................. Sources: Suetonius. “The Life of Caligula.” The Twelve Caesars. Cassius Dio. Roman History, Book 59. Philo of Alexandria. On the Embassy to Gaius. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews, Book 19. “Caligula.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Barrett, Anthony A. Caligula: The Abuse of Power. Routledge, 2015. Winterling, Aloys. Caligula: A Biography. University of California Press, 2011. Katz, Robert S. “The Illness of Caligula.” The Classical World, 1972. Charry-Sánchez, Jorge D., et al. “Caligula: A Neuropsychiatric Explanation of His Madness.” Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 2021. Shotter, David. Caligula. Routledge, 2004.

Prague's Cursed Clocktower: The Orloj

In Prague’s Old Town Square, a skeleton pulls a cord, the apostles pass behind tiny doors, the rooster crows, and one of Europe’s most famous clocks marks another hour. This episode follows the dark history and folklore of the Prague Astronomical Clock, or Orloj: a medieval marvel tied to legends of a blinded clockmaker, ghostly warnings, broken gears, and the belief that Prague will suffer if the clock ever stops. We trace the Orloj from its construction in 1410 through war, religious upheaval, fire, WWII damage, restoration, and modern controversy—asking why this beautiful mechanical wonder has been linked for centuries to curses, disaster, and blood in the square below it. ............................... Links: timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com [timeandtalespodcast@gmail.com] timeandtalespodcast.com [http://timeandtalespodcast.com] https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere [https://www.youtube.com/@LMRiviere] ................................ Sources: * Prague City Tourism. “The Astronomical Clock.” * Prague City Tourism. “Old Town Hall with Astronomical Clock.” * CzechTourism. “Prague Astronomical Clock Returns After Restoration.” * Radio Prague International. “Prague’s Astronomical Clock Removed for Repairs.” * Radio Prague International. “Was the Reconstruction of Prague’s Famous Astronomical Clock Botched?” * Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Prague.” * Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Hussite.” * Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Thirty Years’ War.” * Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Battle of White Mountain.” * Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Austro-Prussian War.” * Charles University. Historical materials on Jan Šindel and medieval Prague. * Prague City Archives. Materials on Old Town Hall and the Prague Astronomical Clock. * “Prague Astronomical Clock.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation.