Kent State University College of Public Health professor Tara Smith, Ph.D., was featured on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast to talk about the novel coronavirus (and its associated disease, COVID-19) pandemic.
In her time as an epidemiologist, Smith has extensively researched and written about diseases such as ebola and MRSA. She is an active science communicator and regularly writes columns for SELF magazine.
“I’m a bacteriologist. I’ve worked in a lab for 20-25 years,” Smith told Carroll on the podcast. “My view of the world is that everything is contaminated.”
In this bonus episode of the Mindscape podcast, Caroll and Smith talk about what viruses are, how they spread and a lot of the science behind pandemics. Additionally, Smith gives insight on what measures are useful (washing hands, social distancing, self isolation) and which are probably not (wearing masks).
“I don’t think we should get comfortable,” Smith mentioned on the podcast. “I think we need to think of this not as a once-in-a-century event, but what if it's a once in a decade event.”
Listen to the entire podcast about Coronavirus, Pandemics, and What We Can Do featuring Smith at: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2020/03/18/bonus-tara-smith-on-coronavirus-pandemics-and-what-we-can-do/
Smith was also featured in a recent New York Times article discussing the best case scenario for the weeks ahead, and in a Detroit Free Press article about when the virus crisis might end.