Bruno Strasser Discusses The Mask on New Books Network
In January 2026, Bruno Strasser joined Miranda Melcher on the New Books Network podcast to discuss The Mask: A History of Breathing Bad Air, co-authored with Thomas Schlich and published by Yale University Press in 2025.
The interview explores the history of respiratory masks, from simple cloth coverings to industrial respirators and gas masks. Moving through hospitals, factories, cities and sites of conflict, the discussion considers how masks have been used to protect people from smoke, dust, vapours and infection.
The conversation also reflects on why masks have repeatedly generated debate, and what their history reveals about changing ideas of health, risk and collective responsibility. These questions connect closely with After the Single Use’s research into how medical technologies become associated with particular understandings of safety and care.
