About this episode

Blake and Karen discuss the Black Death with Dr. Ben Dodds, exploring its historical impact and the misconceptions surrounding it.

Blake and Karen are joined by Dr. Ben Dodds , author of Myths and Memories of the Black Death to discover more about a disease which forever changed world history when it swept across Europe in the 1300s. The conversation runs from the mechanics of the disease - what a bubo actually is, what finally kills you, and why the textbook rats-and-fleas model spreads far too slowly to explain what medieval eyewitnesses described - to the harder question of how anyone in 2026 knows any of it. Along the way: the marmot hypothesis, the medieval physicians who were certain they had it figured out, the appalling 1348 pogroms whose victims were dug out of the ground in a Catalan town a short drive from where Dodds was sitting, why Monty Python understood the Middle Ages better than most historical novelists, and a closing answer about the aftermath that most listeners will not see coming. Blake's cold open, meanwhile, sets out to explain why we call it the Black Death at all - and reels in an unexpected monster. Extended show notes at MonsterTalk.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support . Some product links may be affiliated with…

People in this episode

Host: Blake Smith

Guest: Dr. Ben Dodds

Topics covered

• Black Death
• medieval history
• disease mechanics
• historical analysis
• epidemics
• cultural impact

Keywords

• Black Death
• Dr. Ben Dodds
• medieval physicians
• disease mechanics
• epidemics
• historical analysis
• marmot hypothesis
• 1348 pogroms

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Myths and Memories of the Black Death

Places: Europe, Catalan town

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