Plague After War

Testing samples for the Ebola virus from animals collected in Zaire, 1995. Image via Wikipedia.

Fears of an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. have mostly subsided, but in some parts of West Africa, the epidemic is growing faster than ever. Jim Hentz (Virginia Military Institute) studies the nature of war in Africa and says the spread of Ebola in countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia mirrors that of conflict in the region. Plus: Dr. William Petri is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health at the University of Virginia. He’s studied diseases in the developing world and shares his expertise on the spread of Ebola. And: Public relations crises are nothing new. Lynn Zoch (Radford University), a national name in the field of PR, gives us a look at the history of the industry in the 20^th century—from Rockefeller’s handling of the Ludlow Massacre in his Colorado mines to the 1929 campaign for women to smoke “Torches of Freedom.”

Later in the show: Feminists tend to be thought of as “anti-motherhood.” But psychologist (and mom) Miriam Liss (University of Mary Washington) says feminists are actually more likely than non-feminists to be intense mothers who practice parenting techniques like co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and carrying a child in a body sling. Also featured: To some, being funny at work might seem counterproductive. But John Morreall (College of William and Mary), past president of the International Society for Humor Studies, says many industries, including health care, have begun to appreciate the benefits of humor in the workplace.