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?
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Further Learning:
And as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: lrb.co.uk/talking
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Adam Tooze/Shockwave
Nate Silver
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In Praise of Hilary Mantel
Can America Cope?
Michael Lewis Updated
States of Emergency
Tara Westover/Educated
From Cholera to Coronavirus
Co-operation or Conflict?
The View from Italy
Adam Tooze Part 2
Adam Tooze on the Crisis
Doomsday Clock
Superforecasting
Super Tuesday Special: Biden's Back!
Blair's Labour and Johnson's Brexit
Michael Ignatieff on the Future of Democracy
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