Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer - Season 1

First aired: 5/11/2021 4 episodes

Set in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this series explores the lessons learned from previous global pandemics — including smallpox, cholera, the Spanish flu and others — and reveals how scientists, doctors, self-experimenters and activists launched a public health revolution, saving millions of lives, fundamentally changing how we think about illness and ultimately paving the way for modern medicine.

← Back to Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Episodes

1. Vaccines

Aired: 5/11/2021

Discover the role vaccination plays in our growing ability to prevent the spread of illness. Travel through the remarkable history of vaccines and learn how new ones are developed when never-before-seen diseases like COVID-19 emerge.

2. Medical Drugs

Aired: 5/18/2021

Learn about the surprisingly recent invention of medicine that combats illness directly, such as antibiotics. From the accidental discovery of penicillin to today’s hunt for antivirals, this history underpins work to find COVID-19 treatments.

3. Data

Aired: 5/25/2021

Track the importance of data mapping and analysis in the quest to improve public health. The painstaking work of past data detectives made us aware of epidemic "curves" as well as the extent of health inequalities among different U.S. communities.

4. Behavior

Aired: 6/1/2021

Behavior examines the importance of public engagement during a health crisis, from the discovery that the simple act of handwashing could save lives in a 19th Century Viennese maternity hospital - to facemasks and lockdowns used to combat the Spanish flu 100 years ago, along with what we are experiencing today.