Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?" Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”The 2019 WHO report 30‐day mortality following COVID‐19COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-ph ... Show More
Dec 2021
#270 — What Have We Learned from the Pandemic?
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the lessons of the COVID pandemic. They discuss our failures to coordinate an effective response, the politics surrounding vaccination, vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, how to think about scienti ... Show More
2h 51m
Mar 2025
In Covid’s Wake: How our Politics Failed Us--A Conversation with Stephen Macedo (Part 2)
This week on Madison’s Notes, we continue our discussion with Stephen Macedo, co-author of In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us (Princeton UP, 2025). The book examines the institutional failures during the pandemic, including the politicization of science, inconsistent mes ... Show More
52m 57s
Mar 2025
Were the Covid Lockdowns Worth It?
<p>Five years ago, at the urging of federal officials, much of the United States locked down to stop the spread of Covid. Over time, the action polarized the country and changed the relationship between many Americans and their government.</p><p>Michael Barbaro speaks to Stephen ... Show More
49m 7s
Jan 2022
The Pandemic Lessons We Clearly Haven’t Learned
<p>I remember thinking, as Covid ravaged the country in December 2020, that at least the holidays the next year would be better. There would be more vaccines, more treatments, more immunity. Instead, we got Omicron and a confusing new phase of the pandemic. What do you do with a ... Show More
1h 15m
Oct 2020
#222 — A Pandemic of Incompetence
Sam Harris speaks with Nicholas Christakis about the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the breakdown of trust in institutions and experts, the corruption of science by politics, the ineptitude of the Trump administration in handling the pandemic, whether the gravity of Covid-19 has ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 2022
How the Pandemic Shortened Life Expectancy and New Drugs on the Horizon: COVID, Quickly, Episode 40
In this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about why we’ve had years shaved off our average collective life since 2020. Also, we talk about “mabs” and why you might want to know what they are.
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8m 58s