It now seems clear that the United States is set to become one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus despite the advanced warning it has had from China and Europe. A century ago, the US was hit by a similar crisis – the Spanish Flu epidemic – and while the world has obviously changed enormously, not least in terms of medicine and technology, we are interested to know what parallels there are between the two events. Our particular focus is how government at the state and federal levels has reacted. Watch now to share insights from:

Nancy Bristow is Professor of History at Puget Sound University and author of 'American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epedemic'.
David Swenson, Professor of Economics at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. David looks at the emerging economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the US.
R Jeffrey Smith, Pullitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, formerly with The Washington Post and now National Security Editor at the Center for Public Integrity, Washington DC. Jeffrey will look at the divisions between state and federal government.