In ‘The Viral Underclass,’ Steven Thrasher explores illness under capitalism

Thrasher navigates how systems of oppression not only put marginalized people at greater risk of illnesses but also makes them carry the blame.

By Sarah Stark
Steven Thrasher headshot
Steven Thrasher, author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide C.S. Muncy
Steven Thrasher headshot
Steven Thrasher, author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide C.S. Muncy

In ‘The Viral Underclass,’ Steven Thrasher explores illness under capitalism

Thrasher navigates how systems of oppression not only put marginalized people at greater risk of illnesses but also makes them carry the blame.

By Sarah Stark
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When Steven Thrasher was quarantining with friends in New York City in March 2020, he looked at maps of the city’s COVID-19 infections and deaths. He then realized how similar they were to maps showing where people lived who were diagnosed with HIV, harassed or killed by police, and incarcerated.

Reset talks to Thrasher about how he navigates these many intersections in his new book, The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide.

GUEST: Steven Thrasher, Daniel H. Renberg chair of social justice in reporting and assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University; author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide