The Politics of Pandemics

08. Society of Preachers Part 1

Part 1 of a trilogy. A gathering of thousands of religious faithful in Malaysia coincides with a political crisis, causing the country's first explosion of cases in March 2020.
 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k46iqmANzC-vAH9Wjn7IW19LyMtm4zrSx0S6Q13OmDc/edit?usp=sharing

07. Under The Shadow of the Old Mountain

Peru has the highest death rate per capita from COVID-19 despite locking down early. Here, see how corruption, political instability, and endemic inequality caused a perfect storm in the country.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cz6O0nWtfan0MvB8XQLctT4XXkTSMoDd-J1UTEH34eY/edit?usp=sharing

06. Twilight of the Revolution

Iran came into the pandemic with sanctions, years of political protests, and a calcified elite government. Western writers proclaimed COVID-19 as the nail in the coffin for the Iranian revolution. But they may have been premature in declaring the death of the Iranian regime.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mg7S38csRZ46qe89BT6vkwAAzWGakkp6CUuWDWZYam4/edit?usp=sharing

05. The Bulldozer

While other nations shut down, Tanzania stayed open. Driven by the denialism of President John Magufuli, Tanzania refused to acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic... until Magufuli died.
 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ma5l9f5ALcurTWXHIQqXJ4a3gBiRuTBdXfCwZQIeye8/edit?usp=sharing

04. He‘s Not The Messiah

South Korea's megachurches and cults became the scapegoat of the country's COVID-19 fight. It helps to understand why they ended up being blamed and if they really are at fault.
 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lUf949K4wiREiJXxkmY02b4qqh_EJ8aSMtcnIoNJeuw/edit?usp=sharing

03. Sfortuna

Northern Italy was one of the first regions to be truly hit by the horrors of COVID-19, with a shockingly high mortality rate and cemeteries filling faster than they can dig them. We look at the perfect storm of factors that caused this nightmare and killed a generation of Milanese elderly.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pCZAy1BkQQQhPJ5PcwyBRtd4Vky7cBMLe62JyGWMgBA/edit?usp=sharing

02. 13,986 Dishes

After the first cases were detected, Wuhan insisted they had all cases quarantined and the situation under control. The world would soon find out how wrong they were.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12jUEarAHGP4olqUMx_PPLjQ-IBawtDo3aXiLTBYZ1jg/edit?usp=sharing

01. Early Signs of a Pneumonia Outbreak

The story of the very first days of the pandemic, from the Huanan Seafood Market to the first death.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1om11KIAyhQLGleHlKhtzQom3qa3xH4PyL7KK_qms9lA/edit?usp=sharing