GZERO World Clips
The 2020 pandemic was hardly “unprecedented,” says historian Niall Ferguson
The 2020 pandemic was hardly “unprecedented,” says historian Niall Ferguson | GZERO World
July 26, 2021
"We've been dealing with pandemics from the earliest recorded history. Thucydides writes about a pandemic in the history of the Peloponnesian War. So the last thing 2020 was, was unprecedented," Stanford historian Niall Ferguson told Ian Bremmer on GZERO World. Ferguson, whose new book, "Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe," believes that the world should have been better prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic based on the numerous health crises of the 20th century, from the 1918 Spanish flu to influenza and HIV/AIDS. He provides perspective on how the COVID crisis stacks up compared to other pandemics throughout history.
Watch the episode: Predictable disaster and the surprising history of shocks
From Your Site Articles
More For You
On Monday, public health officials said the virus had killed 2,325 people.
Most Popular
U.S. Army soldiers take part in a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, which is a part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, March 14, 2026.
REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
The decision deals a blow to a decades-old alliance: South Korea relies heavily on US deterrence against its nuclear-armed northern neighbor and hosts 28,500 American troops.
AI is reshaping not only how college students learn, but what they choose to study in the first place.
- YouTube
Russia may be on the back foot in the war, but life near Ukraine’s front lines remains brutal. On GZERO World, David Miliband talks about the human cost of war and why winning on the battlefield means nothing if Ukraine can’t sustain its people.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.