How medicine became a moneymaker

Hungry for seconds? Well, History's Greatest Dishes from History Extra is back for series two. To join us as we serve up stories of some remarkable delicacies from the past, search History's Greatest Dishes and follow the feed wherever you get your podcasts. Hungry for seconds? Well, History's Greatest Dishes from History Extra is back for series two. To join us as we serve up stories of some remarkable delicacies from the past, search History's Greatest Dishes and follow the feed wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the History Extra Podcast. Fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine. How did we go from sharing homegrown cures free of charge to

to buying commercially produced medicine from strangers on the open market. This transition is more complex than you might think, and it's something that Karen Bloom Gewert explores in her book, The Apothecary's Wife, The Hidden History of Medicine and How It Became a Commodity. I spoke to Karen to find out more. Thank you so much for joining me, Karen, to talk about your new book, in which you re examine and I would say in many ways rewrite the history of medicine. So

You're challenging this idea of a triumph of modern medicine narrative. I wonder if you could tell us to start us off a bit more about that traditional narrative and why you think It needs challenging. Yes. So it's so familiar to people that it's almost kind of baked into the culture. This idea that

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