In the second episode of In Defense of Virology, Genetics Professor and Science From the Fringe host Bryce Nickels engages virologist Simon Wain-Hobson in a nuanced discussion on how recent advances in biotechnology have amplified both the promise and the perils of modern virology research.

Building on Episode 1, Simon delves deeper into the dangers of gain-of-function (GOF) research, this time focusing on how today’s biotechnology makes it possible to build entire viruses from digital genetic sequences—blueprints that can be transmitted and replicated worldwide in seconds.

Simon is blunt in his assessment: there are no redeeming benefits to dangerous gain-of-function experiments. To better describe the risk, he introduces the concept of “single-use research of concern” (SURC), a term for studies that generate genuine hazards without any plausible public good. This contrasts with the more familiar idea of “dual-use research of concern” (DURC), which acknowledges that some experiments carry risks but may also advance valuable scientific or medical progress.

Reflecting on his career during the HIV/AIDS era, Simon recounts helping organize a landmark 2000 Royal Society meeting that addressed verboten questions about whether the oral polio vaccine played a role in HIV’s origins. That experience, he says, underscored the value of humility, transparency, and open communication between scientists and the public. From past vaccine mishaps to the careless publication of viral genome data, Simon warns that the real threat to virology isn’t skepticism from outside—it’s hubris and secrecy from within.

(recorded October 20, 2025)

In this episode of Science from the Fringe, host Bryce Nickels speaks with Sigrid Bratlie, Norwegian molecular biologist and science communicator, about her comprehensive new book The Wuhan Mystery: The Hunt for the Origins of COVID.

The conversation delves into the evidence supporting a lab-related origin of COVID-19, the politicization of science, and the personal backlash Bratlie has faced from prominent scientists. She describes how public debate and media coverage of COVID origins in Europe trail behind the U.S., as well as how trust in science and transparency have been eroded across the pond, as well.

Bratlie walks listeners down her path from reflexive skeptic to one of Norway’s leading advocates for an open, evidence-based discussion of the lab leak hypothesis. She candidly describes the personal and professional costs associated with her advocacy, including harassment and intimidation within the scientific community, and underscores the importance of courage, accountability, and intellectual openness in the face of institutional pressure.

(Recorded October 16, 2025)

Timestamps

00:31 — Introduction of Sigrid Bratlie

01:48 — Sigrid discusses her new book: The Wuhan Mystery: The Hunt for the Origins of COVID

03:13 — Conclusions on lab leak evidence and the scientific cover-up

06:45 — Reception the book has received in Norway

08:34 — Bratlie’s role as one of Norway’s leading voice on lab-origin discussions

10:36 — How Europe trails behind the U.S. in the origins debate

12:07 — Strongest evidence for a lab origin

13:27 — Kristian Andersen’s involvement in shaping the origins narrative

22:29 — Bratlie discusses Andersen’s trip to Norway last year and possible motives

28:52 — Other critics of Bratlie

34:28 — Scientific intimidation and silencing tactics

39:52 — Bratlie discusses Ralph Baric’s role

44:45 — Lessons learned: misplaced priorities, risks ignored, and the erosion of public trust

intro and outro by Tess Parks

In the inaugural episode of In Defense of Virology, Rutgers Professor and Science From the Fringe host, Bryce Nickels joins forces with distinguished virologist Simon Wain-Hobson for a new series that aims to defend virology from bad actors within.

Introducing this new segment, Wain-Hobson explains that the real threat to virology isn’t public skepticism, but the recklessness of insiders who promote dangerous gain-of-function (GOF) research and attempt to silence debate.

Drawing from his popular series of essays written for the Biosafety Now Substack newsletter, Simon dissects how flawed GOF studies, perverse incentives, and bureaucratic groupthink have compromised public support for virology, and by extension, science itself.

Bryce and Simon call for virology to reclaim its integrity—returning to an open, truth-driven discipline centered on understanding viral biology and advancing modern medicine.

(recorded October 14, 2025)

On this episode of the Science From the Fringe podcast, Bryce Nickels speaks with his Rutgers colleague and long-time collaborator Richard Ebright (Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University) about the emerging threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Ebright discusses how his research on bacterial RNA polymerase led him to uncover new compounds with therapeutic potential. He shares why the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers is referred to as the “birthplace of antibiotics,” reflects on what ended the “golden era” of antibiotic discovery, and explains how modern medicine could collapse if society doesn’t address the emerging threat of antibiotic resistance.

Ebright also describes how market failures and policy neglect have stalled innovation—and why he believes policymakers continue to fail the public writ large.

Other topics include the potential use of engineered, multi-drug-resistant bacteria as bioweapons, the limits of phage therapy as an alternative to antibiotics, and the ethical parameters of animal testing in drug research.

(Recorded October 12, 2025)

Timestamps

00:38 – Introduction of Richard Ebright02:16 – Research on RNA synthesis and antibiotic discovery10:52 – The global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)16:57 – How AMR evolves through natural selection19:55 – Why new antibiotics are urgently needed22:12 – Top bacteria causing 11% of global disease burden23:30 – Drivers of AMR: human, livestock, and crop use25:35 – Biodefense funding after 9/11 and its impact on AMR27:29 – Market failures and underfunding of antibiotic R&D29:47 – Rutgers’ antibiotic legacy and Selman Waksman’s role33:12 – End of the “golden era” of discovery35:59 – Why Big Pharma abandoned antibiotic research41:33 – Ebright’s policy solution – delinking revenue from sales45:49 – The Pasteur Act – goals and reasons it failed48:33 – Limitations of phage therapy for bacterial infections53:36 – Dual-use risks – engineered resistant bacteria and bioweapons56:32 – Animal testing and ethics in drug development01:06:17 – APY Therapeutics – Ebright’s new antibiotic startup01:16:36 – Closing thoughts – preserving modern medicine with new antibiotics

intro and outro by Tess Parks

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After a thought-provoking Science From the Fringe interview —“Conversations with Bryce Nickels: Kevin McKernan (Biotech Entrepreneur)”, recorded on September 29, 2025 — Bryce Nickels invited Kevin McKernan back for a live X Space on October 9 to continue the conversation.

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The conversation offered listeners a candid look into McKernan’s journey — from early breakthroughs in genome sequencing to founding Medicinal Genomics, where he advanced cannabis research, pushing back against significant legal and regulatory pressures.

Kevin and Bryce then pivoted to the validly of the COVID-19 PCR tests used to drive case counts and death tolls, and raised his many concerns about mRNA vaccines. He explained the crux of the issues including frame-shifting, RNA degradation, DNA contamination, and the discovery of SV40 sequences associated with manufacturing changes — all of which he breaks down for benefit of the non-scientist. This segued into Bryce issuing a public mea culpa for the ultimately incorrect and harmful stances taken during the viral panic.

They also touched on regulatory failures, liability protections, and potential health risks from unvetted vaccine production processes, including inflammation and cancer.

The conversation emphasized the importance of scientific transparency over institutional dogma and featured contributions from Kevin’s collaborator Jessica Rose.

Timestamps

00:00:31 — Welcome and host introduction00:01:00 — Introducing Kevin McKernan and his career background00:01:40 — Early career in pharma marketing before the Human Genome Project00:02:07 — Founding Agincourt Biosciences; acquisition and spin-offs00:03:40 — Evolution from Sanger to next-gen sequencing; cost breakthroughs00:06:49 — Launching Medicinal Genomics inspired by cancer patients and cannabinoids00:09:06 — Personalized medicine vs. pandemic-era management00:11:25 — Legal and logistical challenges sequencing cannabis00:12:19 — Sequencing the first cannabis genome (2011) and later improvements00:13:45 — Entering COVID debates via flawed PCR testing00:15:03 — Using crypto to fund peer review, ensuring independence00:17:05 — How prohibition stunted cannabis breeding and diversity00:21:01 — Professional backlash from vaccine research00:24:23 — Discovering vaccine DNA contamination while troubleshooting RNA-seq00:25:02 — “PCR Gate”: Corman-Drosten paper flaws and case inflation00:29:31 — PCR amplification, CT thresholds, and false positives00:32:40 — Infectiousness cutoff at CT 32 and misinterpretation of results00:35:57 — Lessons from pandemic missteps and calls for accountability00:40:47 — Frame-shifting in mRNA vaccines creating unintended proteins00:46:06 — Regulatory neglect around aberrant protein products00:49:21 — RNA integrity issues and template switching00:54:21 — Codon optimization leading to chimeras; later Moderna fix00:59:30 — From trials to mass production: PCR-to-plasmid transitions01:02:09 — Manufacturing changes violating “process is the product” principle01:08:24 — Independent confirmations of excess DNA, including FDA interns01:09:39 — Outdated FDA limits for DNA in lipid nanoparticles01:12:26 — Hidden SV40 sequences; parallels to early polio vaccines01:15:09 — DNA presence undisputed, but effects underexplored01:18:03 — DNA-induced cGAS-STING activation and cancer concerns01:19:26 — Call to sequence all vaccines; outdated contamination limits01:22:02 — How liability shields enable unsafe practices01:26:50 — Fraud case efforts to revoke manufacturer immunity01:37:50 — Future of mRNA tech: potential if transparency restored

intro and outro by Tess Parks

In this episode of Science From the Fringe, Bryce Nickels speaks with acclaimed science writer and best-selling author, Matt Ridley. Topics include who is “winning” the debate over COVID-19’s origins, the state of modern science, the ethics of de-extinction efforts, and the fascinating premise of Ridley’s latest book, Birds, Sex and Beauty.

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The conversation begins with Ridley’s perspective on the origins of COVID-19, where he argues that a lab leak in Wuhan remains the most plausible explanation. He cites the institutional bias, centralized funding, and fear of reputational harm inherent to academic science as barriers to legitimate inquiry. Ridley contrasts science as an institution, which he views as increasingly corrupt and conformist, with science as a philosophy, which thrives on skepticism and decentralized exploration. He calls for reforms that would empower independent thinkers and “maverick ideas” rather than enforcing consensus through funding monopolies.

The conversation then turns to de-extinction efforts, particularly those led by Colossal Biosciences. Ridley argues for the revival of extinct species such as the great auk and woolly mammoth, stating that humanity has a moral responsibility to restore what it has destroyed. This leads to a deeper discussion with Bryce about the ethical complexities of animal suffering, genetic experimentation, and the potential erosion of public trust following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the third and final segment, Ridley outlines the premise of his new book, Birds, Sex and Beauty. Bryce and Matt discuss Darwin’s theory of sexual selection, female mate choice, and the evolution of beauty in birds — from the peacock’s tail to the bowerbird’s colorful displays. Ridley explains how these traits reflect aesthetic preference rather than pure survival advantage and draws intriguing parallels to human evolution, elevating the importance of sexual selection — vs. Darwin’s theory of natural selection, a.k.a. “survival of the fittest” — in how creativity, humor, and intelligence may have been shaped in humans.

As a unifying concept, Ridley emphasizes the importance of honesty in science as a foundation for restoring public trust. He cautions against “just-so stories” in evolutionary biology — narratives that sound plausible but lack testable evidence — and urges scientists to embrace uncertainty and intellectual humility.

Timestamps

00:31 – Introducing Matt Ridley02:50 – Lab leak theory gaining public traction despite resistance from scientific elites03:49 – Comparison of a lab accident to industrial disasters; the moral duty to investigate05:10 – Preference for natural origin but insistence on scientific honesty and transparency07:15 – Analogy to plane crashes: avoiding investigation to protect reputations is unacceptable09:23 – Distinguishing science as a philosophy of inquiry vs. a corrupted institution10:55 – How decentralized science historically fostered breakthroughs and dissent12:16 – Warning against scientific monopolies and parallels to Lysenkoism17:38 – Discussion of censorship and stigma surrounding lab leak proponents19:29 – Attacks on Ridley’s climate reporting used to discredit his COVID origins work26:25 – Introduction to de-extinction and Ridley’s involvement with Revive and Restore32:09 – Balancing hype and credibility in Colossal’s projects35:16 – Ethical issues in genetic experimentation and animal welfare42:52 – Darwin’s struggle with sexual selection and aesthetic beauty45:25 – Female choice and the “sexy sons” hypothesis47:27 – Bowerbirds’ artistic displays as evidence of aesthetic evolution50:42 – Why most birds lost penises: female control and evolutionary trade-offs53:06 – “Just-so stories” and the limits of evolutionary storytelling56:23 – Human parallels: sexual selection and the evolution of art, humor, and intelligence

intro and outro by Tess Parks

In this episode of Science From the Fringe, Bryce Nickels talks with Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, Lewis Kamb, of public health research group, U.S. Right to Know.

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Kamb discusses his investigative reporting—from exposing Boeing’s 737 MAX failures at The Seattle Times to serving as NBC News’ first national FOIA reporter. He explains how the Freedom of Information Act—“the people’s subpoena”— has been used to expose the secrets of some of our country’s most powerful institutions.

Kamb’s recent investigative work on COVID-19 origins includes uncovering a classified 2020 Defense Intelligence Agency analysis suggesting SARS-CoV-2 could have originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, as well unearthing several NIH emails from 2016 that show semantic side-stepping of gain-of-function classification in order to approve EcoHealth’s chimeric virus experiments.

The conversation concludes with thought-provoking discussion of the pitfalls of FOIA and whether the process, in practice, lives up to the intent.

Timestamps00:00:37 – Introduction of Lewis Kamb.00:01:12 – Kamb discusses the Boeing 737 MAX investigation.00:03:11 – Nickels asks about Kamb’s FOIA expertise.00:03:41 – Kamb explains FOIA as the “people’s subpoena.”00:05:58 – Tips for effective FOIA requests.00:06:29 – Overview of U.S. Right to Know.00:08:39 – Kamb on USRTK’s FOIA litigation strategy.00:10:07 – FOIA delays and agency differences.00:15:10 – Transparency promises left unfulfilled.00:19:01 – Shift to COVID origins and the DIA report.00:20:14 – DIA’s early lab-origin assessment.00:28:21 – 2014 gain-of-function moratorium.00:30:37 – NIH deliberations on EcoHealth proposal.00:33:10 – Links to pandemic origins.00:36:43 – NIH oversight vs. FAA-Boeing failures.00:39:29 – Daszak’s “typo” in progress report.00:42:17 – Discussion of the DEFUSE proposal.00:45:00 – NIH’s delayed moratorium defense.00:50:55 – Future investigations into labs and intelligence agencies.00:52:03 – FOIA’s flaws and need for reform.00:58:04 – Closing remarks.

intro and outro music by Tess Parks

In this episode of Science From the Fringe, Bryce Nickels interviews Roger Pielke Jr., Professor Emeritus from the University of Colorado Boulder and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Pielke is a political scientist specializing in science and technology policy, with a focus on climate, energy, and the politicization of science.

The conversation explores Pielke’s academic journey, the creation of his Substack The Honest Broker, and the challenges he faced with academic marginalization at the University of Colorado. They also draw parallels between weather modification/geoengineering and gain-of-function virology research, emphasizing the need for transparency, risk awareness, and international regulation. Additional themes include congressional testimonies, the politics of scientific publishing, cancel culture in academia, and the importance of honest brokering at the intersection of science and policy.

Timestamps

00:00:31 - 00:01:13: Introducing Roger Pielke Jr.

00:01:14 - 00:05:45: Roger explains the name “The Honest Broker”

00:05:45 - 00:13:16: Academic career and his role in the climate debate.

00:13:16 - 00:17:16: Roger discusses the sports governance center he started.

00:17:16 - 00:21:47: Decision to leave academia.

00:21:47 - 00:26:06: How he was marginalized at University of Colorado

00:26:06 - 00:30:33: Do universities elevate mediocrity?

00:30:33 - 00:33:22: Cultural clash in policy research at Colorado.

00:33:22 - 00:39:05: Recent congressional hearing on weather modification and geoengineering

00:39:05 - 00:43:31: Chemtrails conspiracy and government transparency issues.

00:43:31 - 00:52:57: Parallels between geoengineering and gain-of-function virology.

00:52:57 - 01:09:58: Journals, peer review, hearings, and closing remarks.

intro and outro music by Tess Parks

In this episode of Science From the Fringe, Bryce Nickels speaks with biotech pioneer Kevin McKernan, tracing his career from the Human Genome Project and DNA sequencing innovations (via companies like Agencourt, acquired by Beckman and ABI) to “fringe” pursuits like sequencing cannabis and psilocybin genomes for their therapeutic potential.

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Kevin discusses his early work building genomic tools, before turning to the controversies that have defined his recent research.

McKernan explains why the misuse of PCR tests during COVID (“PCR-gate”) created misleading data about the spread of the virus, how he uncovered plasmid DNA contamination in mRNA vaccine vials—including SV40 sequences that were never disclosed to regulators—and what it all means. Bryce and Kevin also discuss the broader implications of faulty vaccine production: the unacknowledged regulatory failures, conflicts of interest, weaponized retraction campaigns against whistle blowers, and the personal cost of challenging the profit-driven scientific status quo.

Beyond vaccines, McKernan speaks to overlooked biosafety risks in labs and offers a nuanced take on mRNA as a platform—useful in some contexts but warped by subsidies and liability shields.

The conversation is both deeply technical and unflinchingly candid and delves into how competing incentives in biotech impact trust, safety, and accountability in science.

In his first interview since returning from a 10-month hiatus, Bryce Nickels of Science From the Fringe, speaks with Michael Nevradakis, senior reporter at the Defender, Children’s Health Defense’s online news platform.

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From his home in Greece, Nevradakis recounts his early doubts in March 2020 about Anthony Fauci and the emerging COVID-19 policies. Spotting parallels to the manipulative tactics he saw during Greece’s financial crisis, he accurately predicted extended lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the rise of digital identification. Nevradakis also discusses Senator Rand Paul’s scrutiny of Fauci’s communications, the Fauci-backed “Proximal Origin” paper which pushed a natural spillover theory despite virologists’ private skepticism, and damning emails revealing Fauci’s orders to delete official government communications—which could amount to criminal offenses such as perjury and violations of The Federal Records Act.

Nevradakis also discusses his recent article on the surprising appointment of a dangerous gain-of-function advocate as the new acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The conversation ends with sobering thoughts on holding public health leaders accountable, whether the will exists to follow through on the former, and a preview of Nevradakis’s upcoming reports on these developing stories.

Timestamps

00:00:32 - 00:01:08: Introduction to Michael Nevradakis

00:01:09 - 00:05:17: Transition from PhD lecturer to journalist

00:06:09 - 00:12:36: Early skepticism toward Anthony Fauci and COVID measures

00:13:37 - 00:15:44: Discussion of Senator Rand Paul’s probe into Fauci’s communications and COVID origins

00:15:52 - 00:18:10: The Proximal Origin paper and Fauci’s influence

00:20:02 - 00:23:39: Biden’s preemptive pardon for Fauci

00:25:50 - 00:27:23: Fauci’s instructions to colleagues to destroy public records

00:29:39 - 00:34:32: Should Fauci be held accountable?

00:34:32 - 00:40:48: Concerns over the appointment of a proponent of dangerous gain-of-function research as acting director of NIAID

00:40:52 - 00:43:39: Closing thoughts

features music by Tess Parks