Watch Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak is a six-episode docuseries on Netflix that premiered in January 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to take hold around the world. The show is produced by Zero Point Zero, the same company responsible for other food and travel shows like Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain and The Mind of a Chef, and it follows a diverse cast of experts as they work to prevent infectious diseases from becoming global catastrophes.

The show's central figures, who are featured in almost every episode, are Syra Madad, the Senior Director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at New York City Health + Hospitals, and Jake Glanville, a microbiologist and the founder of Distributed Bio, a biotech company based in San Francisco. Madad and Glanville are both engaging and charismatic, and the show does an excellent job of highlighting their individual expertise and the unique perspectives they bring to the table.

One of the strengths of Pandemic is that it covers a wide range of topics and regions, from the dense urban streets of New York City to the vast jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of infectious disease, including how viruses spread, the history of pandemics, the race to develop a universal flu vaccine, and the challenge of responding to outbreaks in developing countries.

The show's episodes are structured around a mix of archival footage, interviews with experts, and on-the-ground reporting as Madad and Glanville travel to different parts of the world to learn more about the dangers of infectious diseases. Throughout the series, they speak with doctors, epidemiologists, researchers, and public health officials, all of whom share their insights and experiences with fighting deadly pathogens.

One particularly striking episode of the series is the third, "Hold On to Your Roots," which examines the relationship between deforestation and the risk of pandemics. Madad and Glanville travel to the Amazon rainforest, where they meet with indigenous communities who have seen their ancestral lands destroyed by logging and agriculture. The episode expertly weaves together the science behind zoonotic diseases (those that jump from animals to humans) with the human story of those whose lives have been upended by environmental destruction.

Similarly powerful is the final episode of the series, "Don't Stop Now," which looks at the challenges of responding to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC. In addition to Madad and Glanville, this episode also features Sarah Ives, the senior humanitarian advisor at Oxfam America, as she tries to coordinate the aid response to the Ebola outbreak. The episode is a sobering reminder of the difficulties many aid workers face in trying to contain outbreaks in parts of the world where political instability and distrust of Western medicine can make it hard to make progress.

Overall, Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak is an excellent series that provides a well-rounded, informative look at the world of infectious diseases. The show is both educational and engaging, and it does an excellent job of highlighting the importance of public health preparedness in a world that is increasingly interconnected. While the timing of the show's release in early 2020 may have led some viewers to feel uneasy, its message about the importance of investing in global health infrastructure is more relevant than ever.

Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (6 episodes). The series first aired on January 22, 2020.