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:
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