Typhoid Mary | Destroying Angel | 2

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After spending two years in forced isolation on a remote island in the East River, Mary Mallon fought back, insisting that she posed no danger to the public and city officials had overstepped their authority in keeping her against her will. She finally managed to secure her freedom after pledging to leave the profession of cooking for good in order to keep the public safe.

But over the next several years health officials struggled to keep track of Mary’s whereabouts, along with hundreds of other “healthy carriers” of typhoid in New York just like her. She eventually slipped out of sight. Then a deadly outbreak of typhoid struck a maternity hospital in Manhattan, and Health officials were back on the hunt.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, history buffs, if you can't get enough of the captivating stories we uncover on American
0:04.7	history tellers, you'll love the exclusive experience of Wondry Plus.
0:08.4	Dive even deeper into the past with ad-free episodes, early access to new seasons, and
0:13.0	bonus content that brings history to life like never before.
0:16.2	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcast and embark on an unparalleled journey through America's most pivotal moments.
0:36.5	Imagine it's February 1915 at the Sloan Maternity Hospital in New York City.
0:42.0	You're a nurse tending to a sick patient on the first floor. A cool draft from the hallway drifts into the
0:47.9	room, but the young woman you're caring for is burning up. You dab the sweat from her brow,
0:53.2	look down at her with sympathy. When she first
0:56.0	came to the hospital to deliver a baby, she was healthy and full of hope, and her labor was
1:00.5	uneventful. But the following day, she came down with a high fever. The doctor suspect she's
1:06.3	contracted typhoid. Fortunately, the baby is okay, but you worry whether the mother will make it.
1:13.5	Another nurse enters the room in motions to talk to you. You prop a pillow behind the young woman's
1:18.4	head and then step into the hallway to join the other nurse. Did you hear? Dr. Morgan has now
1:24.7	come down with the fever. They have him in the sick ward, too.
1:28.2	But how can that be?
1:29.5	I was just with him in the delivery room yesterday afternoon.
1:33.2	I know.
1:34.0	He tried to do his rounds this morning, but collapsed.
1:37.4	That makes more than a dozen now.
1:39.6	But I don't understand.
1:41.5	We follow all the proper procedures.
	...

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