Miasma Theory

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Brian Matthew Jordan, chair of the history department at Sam Houston State University and author of Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War (2015). He talks about how the need to care for Civil War veterans pushed American medicine into a new era. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Jonathan S. Jones, an assistant professor of history at James Madison University and author of Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis (2025). He talks about how and why soldiers were exposed to alcohol and narcotics during the Civil War—and the devastating addiction crisis many faced long after the conflict ended. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Melanie Kiechle, an associate professor of history at Virginia Tech and author of Smell Detectives: An Olfactory History of Nineteenth-Century Urban America (2019). She talks about how the fear of “bad air” guided the daily decisions and medical practices of Civil War soldiers and physicians. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Sarah Handley-Cousins, an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of History at the University of Buffalo and author of Bodies in Blue: Disability in the Civil War North (2019). She talks about the presence and treatment of the “invisible wounds” suffered by Civil War soldiers. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Judith Giesberg, the Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University and the author of a number of books, including Civil War Sisterhood: The U.S. Sanitary Commission and Women's Politics in Transition (2006). She talks about the impact the United States Sanitary Commission had in its efforts to support healthy practices in the Union army during the Civil War. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Jane Schultz, a professor of English and director of Literature at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis and the author of Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil War America (2004). She talks about the motivations and experiences of the women who volunteered as nurses during the Civil War. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

Civil War Breakthroughs is a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the Civil War era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, we'll explore how modern medicine took root during the Civil War.On this episode, we're joined by Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, an associate professor of history at Anderson University and author of The Surgeon’s Battle: How Medicine Won the Vicksburg Campaign and Changed the Civil War (2025). She talks about the wartime evolution in military surgeons' training, knowledge, and practices. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

On the front lines, doctors fought to contain lethal disease alongside battlefield wounds. In field hospitals, volunteer nurses and a new citizen commission helped develop an improved standard of care. And on the home front, returning veterans faced the long aftermath of unseen trauma and addiction.I’m Terry Johnston, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Civil War Monitor. The Civil War is a story of courage and conflict, but it is also the story of a nation that underwent profound and lasting change. While much has been written about the battles and leaders, we believe the pivotal innovations of the era are just as important.Welcome to Civil War Breakthroughs, a podcast that explores how the inventions, ideas, and innovations of the era defined a new kind of conflict. In our second season, The Medical Renaissance, host John Heckman explores how modern medicine took root during the conflict. Expert guests help him delve into the role of women as nurses; the massive influence of the Sanitary Commission; the significance of miasma theory; the battle against "invisible wounds"; the postwar opioid crisis; and how a devastating conflict ultimately ushered in the dawn of modern healthcare.Season 2 of Civil War Breakthroughs premieres October 1. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I hope you'll join us. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity. In our podcast Civil War Curious, we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict. On this episode, we're joined by Allen C. Guelzo, a professor of humanities at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education. A three-time winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize, his books include Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (2004); Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction (2012); and Gettysburg: The Last Invasion (2014). He discusses the various causes behind the outbreak of the American Civil War. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.

The American Civil War remains one of the most pivotal and complex periods in our history. While much has been written, countless fascinating questions still spark our curiosity. In our podcast Civil War Curious, we enlist expert historians to answer your lingering questions about the conflict. On this episode, we're joined by Joan Waugh, professor emeritus of history at UCLA and the author of a number of works on the Civil War era, including U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth (2009), The Memory of the Civil War in American Culture (2004), and, with Gary W. Gallagher, The American War (2023). She discusses the post–Civil War relationship between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, as well as whether former Union and Confederate military leaders got along after the conflict. ©2026 by The Civil War Monitor. All rights reserved.