Edna Bonhomme

Edna Bonhomme is a writer and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, holding a PhD in History of Science from Princeton University and a Master's in Public Health from Columbia University. Her work occupies a unique space at the intersection of academic research, public scholarship, and artistic practice.

Her research interrogates the archaeology of (post)colonial science, embodiment, and surveillance through historical case studies spanning cholera outbreaks to contemporary pandemics. Central to her inquiry is the question: What makes people sick? which she addresses by examining how spaces of care and toxicity shape possibilities for repair within systems of racial capitalism and colonial violence.

Bonhomme's publication record demonstrates remarkable breadth, with recent features in The Nation, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, and Artforum alongside her critically acclaimed book A History of the World in Six Plagues (2025). The book has been recognized by Scientific American, Ms. Magazine, and Ebony Magazine for its searing critique of how Western medical systems are entangled with colonialism and capitalism.

• Kirkus Review: 'A searing attack on historical injustices'
• BookPage: 'Frank, timely critique of the Western medical field'
• Endorsement from Ed Yong (Pulitzer winner): 'If everyone read Edna Bonhomme’s incredible, humane, insightful book... we might stand a chance of actually breaking the cycle of neglect and panic'

Through her podcast Decolonization in Action and multimedia collaborations with institutions like Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Bonhomme creates platforms where artists, researchers, and activists explore decolonial practice. Her work consistently bridges academic rigor with public engagement, particularly through her Substack newsletter Mobile Fragments which makes historical analysis accessible to broad audiences. Recent projects focus on reproductive justice in the post-Roe era and the long-term impacts of pandemic confinement on marginalized communities.