In this episode we’re looking at what is arguably the greatest medical catastrophe in recent history, the Thalidomide Scandal. A drug designed to reduce morning sickness in pregnant women, Thalidomide caused more than 10,000 children in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be born with intense physical disabilities. Pushed primarily under the name Contergan by German company Chemie Grunenthal, the history of Thalidomide is one of corporate greed, negligible accountability, and minimal consequences.
To help us explore this complex and difficult subject, we have two guests. The first, James Essinger, author of “Frankie: The Woman Who Saved Millions from Thalidomide” and Thalidomider, academic speaker Kev Donnelon