A year and a half into the pandemic, we still don’t know how it began. This week, a look at how investigating COVID-19’s origins became a political and scientific minefield. Plus, how a mistake of microns caused so much confusion about how COVID spreads. And, making sense of the "metaverse."

1. Alina Chan [@Ayjchan], postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, on the lack of investigation into COVID's origins. Listen.

2. Megan Molteni [@MeganMolteni], science writer at Stat News, on the 60-year-old mix-up that helped COVID-10 kill. Listen.

3. Gene Park [@GenePark], gaming reporter for The Washington Post, on what the "metaverse" really means. Listen.

4. Margaret Atwood [@MargaretAtwood], novelist, on submitting a manuscript to a library of the future. Listen.

Music from this week's show:

Sacred Oracle - John Zorn
Eye Surgery - Thomas Newman
The Old House - Marcos Ciscar
Tomorrow Never Knows - Quartetto d’ Archi Dell'orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi
72 Degrees and Sunny - Thomas Newman
Viderunt Omnes - Kronos Quartet
Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.