Podcast
Curious Coincidence
Hosted by MIT Technology Review · EN
This is a detective story that’s unsolved. Hosted by investigative reporter Antonio Regalado, Curious Coincidence dives into the mysterious origins of Covid-19 by examining the genome of the virus, the labs doing sensitive research on dangerous pathogens, and questions of whether a lab accident may have touched off a global pandemic.
6episodes
Episodes
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Pandora's Box
Apr 6, 202200:35:55Tap to summarizeIs some knowledge too dangerous to possess? Covid-19 has put cutting-edge research on pandemic germs under the spotlight. We Meet:Rowan Jacobsen, journalistGigi Gronvall, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and associate professorKevin Esvelt, professor and head of Sculpting Evolution Group, MIT Media Lab Links:Senator Paul and Dr. Fauci Clash Over Research Funding of Wuhan Lab, C-SPANInside the risky bat-virus engineering that links America to Wuhan, MIT Technology Review“We never created a supervirus.” Ralph Baric explains gain-of-function research, MIT Technology ReviewManipulating viruses and risking pandemics is too dangerous. It’s time to stop, Washington Post Credits:Curious Coincidence was produced as part of MIT Technology Review's Pandemic Technology Project, which is supported in part by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation. The series was created by Antonio Regalado and Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green, Luke Robert Mason and Lindsay Muscato, with help from Emma Cillekens. The executive producer is Golda Arthur. Theme music was composed and recorded by Jacob Gorski, with Ben Tolliday on cello and Ben Haeuser on woodwinds. The episodes contain original scoring and sound design by Garret Lang. Art direction by Eric Mongeon with illustration by Selman Design. The series was edited by Michael Reilly, David Rotman and Jennifer Strong, with fact checking by Matt Mahoney.
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China
Mar 23, 202200:34:30Tap to summarizeScientists zero in on a market in the city of Wuhan as the place the pandemic started. But information on China’s wild-animal trade is hard to uncover. We Meet:Michael Standaert, freelance journalist based in ChinaAlex Crits-Christoph, bioinformatician, Johns Hopkins UniversityMatthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviserHo-fung Hung, political economist, Johns Hopkins University Links:No one can find the animal that gave people covid-19, MIT Technology Review In search for coronavirus origins, Hubei caves and wildlife farms draw new scrutiny, The Washington PostThe Huanan market was the epicenter of SARS-CoV-2 emergence, ZenodoHolding Beijing Accountable For The Coronavirus Is Not Racist, Journal of Political Risk Credits:Curious Coincidence was produced as part of MIT Technology Review's Pandemic Technology Project, which is supported in part by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.The series was created by Antonio Regalado and Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green, Luke Robert Mason and Lindsay Muscato, with help from Emma Cillekens. The executive producer is Golda Arthur.Theme music was composed and recorded by Jacob Gorski, with Ben Tolliday on cello and Ben Haeuser on woodwinds. The episodes contain original scoring and sound design by Garret Lang.Art direction by Eric Mongeon with illustration by Selman Design.The series was edited by Michael Reilly, David Rotman and Jennifer Strong, with fact checking by Matt Mahoney.
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Labs
Mar 9, 202200:26:32Tap to summarizeLab accidents have caused disease outbreaks before, and accidents are more common - and kept more secret - than you think.We Meet:Alison Young, journalism professor, Missouri School of JournalismGigi Gronvall, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and associate professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Links: Biolabs in your backyard, USA TodayThe Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function Debate, Michelle Rozo & Gigi Gronvall, ASM JournalsInfluenza: Old and New Threats, Peter Palese, Nature MedicineCredits:Curious Coincidence was produced as part of MIT Technology Review's Pandemic Technology Project, which is supported in part by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.The series was created by Antonio Regalado and Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green, Luke Robert Mason and Lindsay Muscato, with help from Emma Cillekens. The executive producer is Golda Arthur.Theme music was composed and recorded by Jacob Gorski, with Ben Tolliday on cello and Ben Haeuser on woodwinds. The episodes contain original scoring and sound design by Garret Lang.Art direction by Eric Mongeon with illustration by Selman Design.The series was edited by Michael Reilly, David Rotman and Jennifer Strong, with fact checking by Matt Mahoney.
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Sleuths
Mar 9, 202200:23:22Tap to summarizeA group of self-appointed online investigators decide to investigate a Chinese lab. Their findings only deepen doubts.We meet:The Seeker, internet sleuthRowan Jacobsen, journalist Links:Meet the scientist at the center of the covid lab leak controversy, MIT Technology ReviewCredits:Curious Coincidence was produced as part of MIT Technology Review's Pandemic Technology Project, which is supported in part by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.The series was created by Antonio Regalado and Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green, Luke Robert Mason and Lindsay Muscato, with help from Emma Cillekens. The executive producer is Golda Arthur.Theme music was composed and recorded by Jacob Gorski, with Ben Tolliday on cello and Ben Haeuser on woodwinds. The episodes contain original scoring and sound design by Garret Lang.Art direction by Eric Mongeon with illustration by Selman Design.The series was edited by Michael Reilly, David Rotman and Jennifer Strong, with fact checking by Matt Mahoney.
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Origins
Mar 9, 202200:33:11Tap to summarizeWhy we need to find the truth, and the “curious coincidence” that set off a battle over covid-19’s origin. We Meet:Peter Ben Embarek, WHO program manager and covid-19 origins mission leaderJesse Bloom, virologist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterAlina Chan, postdoc, Broad Institute of MIT/HarvardNatasha Loder, health policy editor with The Economist Links:On Finding Answers, by Natasha Loder on SubstackThey called it a conspiracy theory. But Alina Chan tweeted life into the idea that the virus came from a lab, MIT Technology ReviewNo one can find the animal that gave people covid-19, MIT Technology ReviewCredits:Curious Coincidence was produced as part of MIT Technology Review's Pandemic Technology Project, which is supported in part by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.The series was created by Antonio Regalado and Jennifer Strong and produced by Anthony Green, Luke Robert Mason and Lindsay Muscato, with help from Emma Cillekens. The executive producer is Golda Arthur.Theme music was composed and recorded by Jacob Gorski, with Ben Tolliday on cello and Ben Haeuser on woodwinds. The episodes contain original scoring and sound design by Garret Lang.Art direction by Eric Mongeon with illustration by Selman Design.The series was edited by Michael Reilly, David Rotman and Jennifer Strong, with fact checking by Matt Mahoney.
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Welcome to Curious Coincidence
Feb 10, 202200:03:22Tap to summarizeThis is a detective story that’s unsolved. Hosted by investigative reporter Antonio Regalado, Curious Coincidence dives into the mysterious origins of Covid-19 by examining the genome of the virus, the labs doing sensitive research on dangerous pathogens, and questions of whether a lab accident may have touched off a global pandemic.A five part investigation from MIT Technology Review.
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