Shows
We Want Them Infected PodcastThe Politics of COVID Origins with Dr. Philipp Markolin PhDIn this episode of We Want Them Infected, Dr. Jonathan Howard and Wendy Orent unpack the shocking CDC shooting in Atlanta, which many are calling "public health's January 6th." They trace how years of anti-science rhetoric from figures like RFK Jr., Jay Bhattacharya, and Vinay Prasad have fueled violent consequences. They also welcome their first guest, Dr. Philipp Markolin PhD, author of Lab Leak Fever. Dr. Markolin shares his global reporting on COVID's origins, dismantles the so-called "lab leak" hypothesis, and explains how disinformation has been weaponized for politics and power. From epidemiological evidence at the Wuhan...
2025-08-212h 11
Science CounterpunchChapter 5 - Blaming Tigers, Hidden FearsNote: This is a freely accessible serialized version of Lab Leak Fever. Audio voiceover was AI generated for accessibility. Find an overview of all chapters here or consult the book website for further information.“They got a police escort to get us shoe shopping, and I basically wore a wedding dress… There are even photos in Pakistani newspapers… and I just thought, if I can give a talk wearing this, I can give a talk in anything.” Alice Hughes laughed wholeheartedly while I shook my head in giddy disbelief. It was a good day, which we both needed...
2025-08-151h 06
Science CounterpunchChapter 4 - Played by the outrage machineNote: This is a freely accessible serialized version of Lab Leak Fever. Audio voiceover was AI generated for accessibility. Find an overview of all chapters here or consult the book website for further information.I got interested in the lab origin controversy at an odd time in my life. After having spent a decade in biological labs for my research, I gradually developed an interest in systemic approaches to understanding biology. There are just too many moving pieces in a biological system to capture all, or even just the most relevant, causative molecular mechanisms of complex phenomena...
2025-08-081h 04
Science CounterpunchChapter 1 - With the Shadow HuntersNote: This is a freely accessible serialized version of Lab Leak Fever. Audio voiceover was AI generated for accessibility. Find an overview of all chapters here or consult the book website for further information.A disturbingly dry cough broke the silence of the Malaysian night; the pigs resting under the mango trees had been uneasy that day. Loud, whooping breaths filled the backyards of small farmhouses. Pig farming had been a family business in the villages of Bukit Pelandok and Sikamat, and for the Foochow Chinese, it was a source of pride and good income. While most...
2025-08-0138 min