We talk to Michael Lewis about his new book The Premonition, which tells the story of the people who saw the pandemic coming and asks why they couldn't get a hearing. It's a tale of short-term failures and long-term trends in US government and it follows on from his previous book about the risks America has been running in hollowing out the administrative state. A sobering account with glimmers of hope for the future.
Talking Points:
Old timers at the CDC say that things began to change after the 1976 swine flu outbreak.
Doing a public health job well carries a high risk of getting fired.
Why was it so hard to learn from the experiences of other cities in the heart of the crisis?
Mentioned in this Episode:
Further Learning:
And as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: lrb.co.uk/talking
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics.
President Biden
What Just Happened?
Are Young People Losing Faith in Democracy?
China, Climate, Covid: The New Energy Map
What Trump Means to Us
Democracy for Sale
Trump Stress Test
Can Boris Survive Brexit?
One-Term Presidents
Michael Sandel on the Case Against Meritocracy
Robert Harris and V2
Jill Lepore on the Destructive Power of Tech
The Incompetence of Boris Johnson
The Politics of Loneliness
Thomas Piketty: Three Years On
Has Covid Rescued Europe?
Judith Butler: Then and Now
Brexit, Trump and Aldershot FC
Whose Work is it Anyway?
Revisiting Yuval Harari
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free