Watch, Read, Listen

Neal Nathanson M.D., discusses a 1955 incident in which Cutter Laboratories of Berkeley, Calif., inadvertently released batches of polio vaccine that contained the live virus. Nathanson also provides an update on efforts toward global eradication of poliomyelitis.

Amy Kind, professor of philosophy at Claremont McKenna College, and Shelley Streeby, professor of ethnic studies and literature at the University of California, San Diego, explore futuristic notions of family and reproduction in the work of science fiction author Octavia Butler.

Woody Holton, professor of American history at the University of South Carolina, offers a preview of research from his forthcoming book about the battlefields of the American Revolution.

Suzanne Wright, associate professor of art history at the University of Tennessee, discusses the partnerships between Chinese painters and woodblock carvers who worked together to produce prints of exquisite beauty in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In 1941, the Limited Editions Book Club approached Edward Weston to collaborate on a deluxe edition of Walt Whitman’s poetry collection, “Leaves of Grass.” Weston accepted the assignment and set out on a cross-country trip that yielded a group of images that mark the culmination of an extraordinarily creative period in his career.