The recipients of the 2020 Future of Life Award, William Foege, Michael Burkinsky, and Victor Zhdanov Jr., join us on this episode of the FLI Podcast to recount the story of smallpox eradication, William Foege's and Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s involvement in the eradication, and their personal experience of the events.

 Topics discussed in this episode include:

-William Foege's and Victor Zhdanov's efforts to eradicate smallpox-Personal stories from Foege's and Zhdanov's lives-The history of smallpox-Biological issues of the 21st century

You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/12/11/future-of-life-award-2020-saving-200000000-lives-by-eradicating-smallpox/

You can watch the 2020 Future of Life Award ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73WQvR5iIgk&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=FutureofLifeInstitute

You can learn more about the Future of Life Award here: https://futureoflife.org/future-of-life-award/

Timestamps: 

0:00 Intro3:13 Part 1: How William Foege got into smallpox efforts and his work in Eastern Nigeria14:12 The USSR's smallpox eradication efforts and convincing the WHO to take up global smallpox eradication15:46 William Foege's efforts in and with the WHO for smallpox eradication18:00 Surveillance and containment as a viable strategy18:51 Implementing surveillance and containment throughout the world after success in West Africa23:55 Wrapping up with eradication and dealing with the remnants of smallpox25:35 Lab escape of smallpox in Birmingham England and the final natural case27:20 Part 2: Introducing Michael Burkinsky as well as Victor and Katia Zhdanov29:45 Introducing Victor Zhdanov Sr. and Alissa Zhdanov31:05 Michael Burkinsky's memories of Victor Zhdanov Sr.39:26 Victor Zhdanov Jr.'s memories of Victor Zhdanov Sr.46:15 Mushrooms with meat47:56 Stealing the family car49:27 Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s efforts at the WHO for smallpox eradication58:27 Exploring Alissa's book on Victor Zhdanov Sr.'s life1:06:09 Michael's view that Victor Zhdanov Sr. is unsung, especially in Russia1:07:18 Part 3: William Foege on the history of smallpox and biology in the 21st century1:07:32 The origin and history of smallpox1:10:34 The origin and history of variolation and the vaccine1:20:15 West African "healers" who would create smallpox outbreaks1:22:25 The safety of the smallpox vaccine vs. modern vaccines1:29:40 A favorite story of William Foege's1:35:50 Larry Brilliant and people central to the eradication efforts1:37:33 Foege's perspective on modern pandemics and human bias1:47:56 What should we do after COVID-19 ends1:49:30 Bio-terrorism, existential risk, and synthetic pandemics1:53:20 Foege's final thoughts on the importance of global health experts in politics

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