The Viral Underclass

The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide

By: Steven W. Thrasher

Narrated by: Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl, Steven W. Thrasher

This program is read by the author with a foreword written and read by Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl.

"An irresistibly readable and humane exploration of the barbarities of class...readers are gifted that most precious of things in these muddled times: a clear lens through which to see the world."
—Naomi Klein, New York Times bestselling author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine

From preeminent LGBTQ scholar, social critic, and journalist Steven W. Thrasher comes a powerful and crucial exploration of one of the most pressing issues of our times: how viruses expose the fault lines of society.

Having spent a ground-breaking career studying the racialization, policing, and criminalization of HIV, Dr. Thrasher has come to understand a deeper truth at the heart of our society: that there are vast inequalities in who is able to survive viruses and that the ways in which viruses spread, kill, and take their toll are much more dependent on social structures than they are on biology alone.

Told through the heart-rending stories of friends, activists, and teachers navigating the novel coronavirus, HIV, and other viruses, Dr. Thrasher brings the listener with him as he delves into the viral underclass and lays bare its inner workings. In the tradition of Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste and Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, The Viral Underclass helps us understand the world more deeply by showing the fraught relationship between privilege and survival.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2022 Steven W. Thrasher (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Brilliant

Dr. Thrasher outlines bold ideas and takes strong positions in this beautiful book, but he does it in a way that is hard to argue with. This is a timely and important work.

Ought to be required reading

This book taught me so much! I loved its focus on interdependence. I also have so many new heroes- I never knew of Lorena Borjas till now. Her actions have changed my heart!

Eye Opening

This is a must read for everyone! The Viral Underclass is an exploration of the way we are all connected via viruses and how protecting our most vulnerable is exactly what we need to eradicate this capitalist separation.

A lesson in caring and empathy.

Steven Thrasher conveys the way we are all interconnected and opens our eyes to how we might all live in a better world if we approach one another with care and compassion, rather than vilifying, criminalizing and othering those who seem to belong to a different group.

New Perspective

This book is amazing, informative and eye opening. Thrasher writes candidly and beautifully about an issue many Americans simply want to ignore. The Viral Underclass has changed the way I think about community, viruses, interconnectedness, and our American society. Easily one of the best books I read in 2022.

Enlightening and Inspiring

The way Thrasher wove together so many different stories and so many pieces of information was masterful. Each chapter was both damning and inspiring. I have never read a nonfiction work so brilliant.

Well Written

I loved how this book was written. It was not overburdened with data however yeah however used it in a constructive way drop it away to help the listener understand stand how America has been dealing with , Or not dealing with, Systemic racism in our country.

I'm looking forward to more titles by this author.

Brilliant, touching and sharp at once

I learned so much and saw things in plain sight in entirely new ways. I also appreciate that Steven Thrasher narrated his own book.

Mostly good

I feel like this book skipped out on some basic fact checking in a few areas which may call into question factual accuracy in other areas. But the book did raise some good points and ideas.