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The eradication of smallpox is one of humanity’s great achievements — but the battle against the virus was fought by the most unlikely of alliances. How did the breakthrough happen – and can we guarantee that the world is still safe from smallpox?

This episode owes a debt to Stephen Coss’s book “The Fever of 1721,” Ibram X. Kendi’s book “Stamped From the Beginning,” and to an article about Dark Winter written by Tara O’Toole, Michael Mair and Tomas Inglesby.

The Host

Tim Harford

Tim Harford’s long-running column in the Financial Times, “The Undercover Economist,” reveals the economic ideas behind everyday experiences. His first book, The Undercover Economist, was published in 30 languages and sold…