#84 - Ryan Gregory: Evolutionary Biology, COVID-19, and Viral Outbreaks

In this episode, we talked to Professor Ryan Gregory who is an evolutionary biologist and genome biologist at the University of Guelph. We talked about evolutionary biology and, most specifically, his primary research focus which is genome evolution.

We discussed how similar the stigmatization regarding Monkeypox is to the earlier reporting on HIV/AIDS and how dangerous that sort of discourse can be. We also talked about the different responses to the pandemic by governments and whether herd immunity was ever a plausible solution. Finally, We touched on the subject of biases in decision-making regarding COVID-19 and other viral outbreaks. 

This interview is part of our docuseries "SICK AND TIRED" on the Ontario 2022 election. "SICK AND TIRED" is out now on YouTube. Make sure to check it out!