As the recent past will attest, the discovery of vaccines can not only save lives, but also change the course of human history. Speaking with Matt Elton, Simon Schama explores the story of inoculation, charting the individuals and organisations who played a pivotal role in its use against deadly diseases including plague, smallpox and cholera.

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Simon Schama is the author of Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations (Simon & Schuster, 2023)

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Authors

Simon Schama is a historian, television presenter and professor of art history and history at Columbia University, New York

Matt EltonDeputy Editor, BBC History Magazine

Matt Elton is BBC History Magazine’s Deputy Editor. He has worked at the magazine since 2012 and has more than a decade’s experience working across a range of history brands.

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