
Then & Now
Then & Now connects past to present, using historical analysis and context to help guide us through modern issues and policy decisions. Then & Now is brought to you by the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. This podcast is produced by David Myers and Roselyn Campbell, and features original music by Daniel Raijman.
Then & Now
Vaccine Mandates Past and Present: A Conversation with Dorit Reiss
In recent months, there has been a raging debate over whether the state--or private actors--can require vaccine mandates. Some resisters claim that such a mandate stands in opposition to their religious liberty; others maintain that the state should not have this authority. Where did vaccine mandates--and the fierce resistance to them--come from? Dorit Reiss, Professor of Law and James Edgar Hervey ’50 Chair of Litigation at UC Hastings, and one of the country's leading authorities on vaccine mandates, joins then & now to discuss vaccine hesitancy and resistance throughout history, the role of religious exemptions, and the politicization of the pandemic.