Contagious Conversations

Maryn McKenna is an independent journalist and author who specializes in public health, global health and food policy. She is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Human Health at Emory University, and the author of the 2017 bestseller BIG CHICKEN: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats, as well as the award-winning books Superbug and Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service. In this episode Maryn shares her unique career journey, describes why storytelling matters, and tells us what it’s like to cover stories on the front lines of disease outbreaks. For more information and full episode transcription go to Contagious Conversations (www.cdcfoundation.org/conversations). Key Takeaways: [1:04] How Maryn became a journalist. [2:27] Immersion in the public health field. [4:01] Falling in love with investigative journalism. [5:04] Realizing the need to become a storyteller. [6