In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the Anthrax events in the weeks that followed, Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks with Dr. Tom Inglesby of the Center for Health Security about the transformational impacts these events had on public health. They discuss what the attacks revealed about the US’s vulnerabilities, how an influx of funding helped establish better public health preparedness, and the impacts these may have had on the US’s response to COVID-19—for better or worse.