The Fever That Haunted the South: The Forgotten Epidemic of 1878
Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast
10/25/25
•15m
About
Comments
Featured In
What kind of epidemic could turn a thriving American city into a ghost town almost overnight?
Join me as I explore the chilling story of the 1878 yellow fever epidemic—a public health disaster that decimated Memphis and echoed far beyond the Mississippi River Valley. While yellow fever had haunted the U.S. since the slave trade, it was the post–Civil War era—with its railroads, riverboats, and lack of national infrastructure—that turned an outbreak into a catastrophe. The fever emptied cities, bankrupted local governments, and revealed just how unprepared the nation was. But in the aftermath came something surprising: a rare moment of national unity and the first federal steps toward epidemic response. This is a haunting chapter of U.S. history, where disease reshaped the map, the economy, and the legacy of Reconstruction.
Previous Episode
Before Jack the Ripper: The Savage Crimes of the Servant Girl Annihilator
October 18, 2025
•16m
What if America’s first serial killer wasn’t H.H. Holmes—but someone far more brutal and completely forgotten?
In this episode, I unravel the chilling mystery of the Servant Girl Annihilator, a violent and elusive murderer who stalked Austin, Texas from 1884 to 1885—years before Holmes ever claimed a victim. Eight people were slaughtered in their homes, yet this case remains buried beneath history’s more famous headlines. Who was this killer? Why were the crimes so quickly forgotten? And could this American predator have crossed the Atlantic to become the infamous Jack the Ripper?
Step into the shadows of Reconstruction-era Texas, where fear gripped a city, justice was elusive, and a killer vanished into legend.
Next Episode
Victoria Woodhull: Eden Collinsworth on a Most Improbable Life
October 28, 2025
•40m
She was a child clairvoyant, the first woman to own a Wall Street brokerage firm—and in 1872, she became the first woman to run for president of the United States. Join me as I sit down with author Eden Collinsworth to unpack the astonishing, unconventional, and often-overlooked life of Victoria Woodhull. Drawing from her new book The Improbable Victoria Woodhull, Collinsworth shares insights into Woodhull’s rise from spiritualist and outsider to a figure who challenged nearly every social and political norm of her time.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted