A second wave of influenza sweeps through New South Wales. The death rate climbs and hospitals are overwhelmed. Why are some groups of people dying at much higher rates than others?

Featuring public health expert Professor Peter Curson, virologist Dr Kirsty Short, Worimi man and historian Professor John Maynard and medical historian Dr Peter Hobbins.

MUSIC: Scott Joplin’s New Rag 1912: OnClassical, Cinematic: Moff, Cylinder Four: Chris Zabriskie, Belle Reve Lost: Simon Bowman, Fuguencelle: Eracilon, Sad Piano: DDmyzik, Le client: Grégoire Lourme, Funeral: Serge Quadrado, Mirage: Ad Libitum, Anxiety: Shymonmusic. (All tracks amended)

Episode 5: Aftershocks

In 1918–19 an influenza pandemic took an estimated 15,000 Australian lives, and millions more around the world. One hundred years on, as we grapple with COVID-19, this five-part series rakes through the archives of the State Library of NSW with historians, public health experts and scientists to trace the path of the 1918-19 pandemic. An eerily familiar story of loss, resilience and discovery in a world turned upside down.