Ep. 257, Chapter 1: Unpacking The Germ Theory Revolution With Thomas Levenson

0:00 – 18:54

Life Science Leader Chief Editor Ben Comer and science writer Thomas Levenson discuss the latter’s latest book, "So Very Small: How Humans Discovered the Microcosmos, Defeated Germs, and May Still Lose the War Against Infectious Diseases.” The book focuses on the 19th-century "germ theory revolution," particularly Robert Koch's 1876-1877 discovery of the anthrax bacillus as the pathogen causing anthrax. This period drastically changed our understanding of disease causation, despite a 200-year gap between the first observation of microbes in 1676 and the definitive link between microbes and disease. This delay forms a central question in "So Very Small," which Levenson attributes partly to human hubris — particularly the Western cultural idea of human exceptionalism — arguing that this ingrained hierarchical thinking continues to influence public health and scientific understanding today.