North Carolina’s resistance to pandemic is not uniform. The Triangle and Charlotte each host an international airport and research hospitals; March Madness brings crowds to Greensboro; Wilmington receives cargo and personnel from overseas; and Asheville entertains tourists from around the world. Socioeconomic vulnerability also contributes to the spread.
Joining host Frank Stasio to survey the state's landscape of vulnerability is Jonathan Quick, an adjunct professor of global health at Duke University and former director of essential drugs and medicines policy at the World Health Organization. Priscilla Wald takes a critical look at how narratives of fear distract the public from an underlying cause of global outbreaks — namely poverty and weak healthcare systems. Wald is a professor of English at Duke and the author of “Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative” (Duke University Press/2008).
