In the early days of the pandemic a lot of attention was paid to the fact that the Chinese city of Wuhan, from which the virus emerged, contained a biological research laboratory that had been experimenting with coronaviruses.

But this was met by political and scientific reassurance that the virus was more likely the result of an evolutionary leap and had spread via a food market. Those who persisted with the laboratory hypothesis were criticised for being anti-Chinese or 'conspiracy theorists' and their views were largely excluded from mainstream media reporting and ‘flagged’ as outliers on social media sites.

The fact that President Trump, who had been pushing strange ‘cures’ for Covid, also entertained the lab-leak theory, made many of his opponents feel it was probably incorrect.

This week’s guest, journalist Matt Ridley wasn’t so sure, and he set about with a co-author, molecular biologist, Alina Chan, to investigate. Their 2021 book ‘Viral' laid out the case for and against the lab leak theory in great detail.

Meanwhile the administration of President Biden started to review the evidence, as a series of scientific and congressional inquiries put ‘lab escape’ back on the mainstream news agenda. Today more and more experts are entertaining it.

So what’s the real evidence - and could it be that political bias may have stopped us looking dispassionately at the cause of greatest public health emergency of the century?

You can buy Matt Ridley’s book - and thousands more - from the Scandal Mongers own online bookstore - part of a profit-sharing collaboration between podcasters and independent book stories.

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/viral-the-search-for-the-origin-of-covid-19-alina-chan/6158390?aid=12054&ean=9780008487492

Andrew Lownie.

twitter.com/andrewlownie

Phil Craig.

twitter.com/philmcraig

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