Roanoke, VA

October 19, 2011. 6:30 pm. “The Fever: how malaria has ruled humankind for 500,000 years.” Hollins University, Roanoke, VA.

Rochester, NY

October 18, 2011. 7 pm. “The Fever: How malaria has ruled humankind for 500,000 years.” Nazareth College, Rochester NY.

My op-ed on malaria eradication in today’s online New York Times

Controlling malaria–as opposed to eradicating it, as today’s enthusiasts urge–may be a safer, more sustainable and socially valuable goal, I argue in this op-ed, which appears in today’s New York Times online (and also in the International Herald Tribune). Read it here.

My new story on why malaria may never be eradicated in this month’s Le Monde Diplomatique

My op-ed on why malaria may never be eradicated–think chimps and gorillas–appears in this month’s Le Monde Diplomatique, in the English edition. Read it here: http://mondediplo.com/2010/10/13malaria

Pittsburgh, PA

October 4, 2011. 8 pm. “The Fever: Writing, Women, and the Environment.” Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA. Free and open to the public. Reception and book-signing to follow.

Enabling a billion readers in India: ekkitab.com

Only a few million of India’s billion-strong populace can read. Ekkitab.com–”ek kitab” means “one book” in Hindi–is a new online bookstore with the grand ambition of “enabling a billion readers,” by, among other things, providing easy online access to cheap books.

“How do we feel about belonging to that privileged group of a few million who can read?,” they ask on their site. “How would things change if more people could read?”

How indeed?

San Francisco, CA

September 14, 2011. 12:30 PST. Interview with Shirin Sadeghi, “New America Now,” 91.7 FM KALW San Francisco

Now online: Bloggingheads.tv video dialog with Randi Hutter Epstein

Last week, I spoke with medical journalist Randi Hutter Epstein, about malaria, politics, Jeff Sachs, and the future of mosquitoes, in a video interview arranged by Bloggingheads.tv. Randi, whose new book Get Me Out is on the history of childbirth, did her medical school thesis on malaria history, and also wrote a nice review of The Fever. It was great fun talking to her–kind of weird to record it but I think the end result actually works. Here’s the link on this website, and also on Bloggingheads.tv

My answers to readers of New York Times’ Freakonomics blog

“The Malaria Wars: Sonia Shah answers your malaria questions” is online today on NYTimes.com’s Freakonomics blog. Got some interesting questions about DDT, malaria in the United States, and malaria’s animal reservoirs. Enjoy!

Answering questions on the New York Times’ Freakonomics blog

I read Freakonomics while stranded at an airport for a few hours a couple years ago. Enjoyed it thoroughly. This week, the editor of the New York Times‘ Freakonomics blog will be soliciting questions from readers about “The Fever.” My attempts to expose the freaky ironies and hidden sides of malaria will appear on their blog shortly. Send in your questions to the NYT here.