Housing, healthcare, groceries, and the cost of living give us plenty to worry about. But how bad was life before modern conveniences transformed human life?

Paul Meany sits down with Chelsea Follett, author of The Grim Old Days: An Introduction to the Preindustrial Past, to explore what everyday life was really like before antibiotics, refrigeration, indoor plumbing, and modern sanitation. From romanticized visions of the past to the extraordinary improvements we often take for granted, they examine why understanding that history matters for how we see the world today.

Buy Chelsea's new book here: https://www.cato.org/books/grim-old-days

Producer: Barbara Galletti

Post Production: Sedona LaMarre

Audio Engineer: Cecil Sherman

Original Music: Cecil Sherman

Director of Photography: Darren Walker

Assistant Editors: Lester Romero and Shaneen Gevorgiz

Assistant Producer: Elcid Demonteverde

Motion Graphics: Jonathan Fields

Executive Producer: Kristina Kendall

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