Politics & Society

Back in March, Kayla Williams, a Black British woman from South London, died. Only a day after calling 999. Even though her symptoms were serious and clearly suggested a Covid-19 infection, the paramedics ranked her case as “not a priority”.

From the plagues in Egypt to the Black Death, the Spanish flu and now Covid-19, the trail of human misery left by diseases and disasters has been intense. For a social scientist, what do these events mean for society and its future?