The Biollywood Podcast

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, and Wendy Villalta, Assistant Director for Operations, discuss the 2022 foreign language film "Virus 32" and its implications for disease outbreaks, transmission, and mutation. 

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2005 film "Doom" - starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Karl Urban - and its implications for astrobiodefense, biosafety and biosecurity, and genetic modification.

Premise: In the year 2046, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) operates a top-secret research facility on Mars called Olduvai. When a distress signal reports a containment breach, a squad of Marines known as the Rapid Response Tactical Squad (RRTS) is deployed via "the Ark" (a teleportation gate) to secure the facility.

They arrive to find the staff slaughtered or mutated into grotesque creatures. The threat isn't supernatural, but biological: an ancient Martian "24th Chromosome" (C24) that has been weaponized as a serum. The squad must contain the threat before it can spread to Earth via the Ark, leading to a brutal conflict between duty, ethics, and survival.

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss S02E10 of NCIS: Origins, Lean on Me. We are joined by special guest, Patrick Cady, who directed the episode.

Patrick is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer-turned-director known for his visual storytelling on acclaimed series like Bosch and Insecure. He began his career working with legendary filmmaker John Sayles on films like Passion Fish and Sunshine State, and his cinematography credits include the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Girlfight. As a director, he has helmed pivotal episodes of Rectify, Interrogation, and the series finale of Bosch.

Premise: A Marine captain, Brian Polanco, stumbles into the NIS office at Camp Pendleton exhibiting symptoms that initially appear to be intoxication. When Gibbs attempts to place him in the drunk tank, Polanco begins seizing violently. Paramedics arrive and suspect the Lenkah virus—a fictional pathogen with a 95% mortality rate that last appeared in 1924—triggering a full office quarantine and lockdown. With Mike Franks sidelined by a thrown-out back and most of the team trapped at a bar offsite, Gibbs finds himself as the senior agent in charge during what appears to be a bioterrorism event.

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

Pluribus begins with astronomers at the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico detecting a mysterious signal originating 600 light-years from Earth, repeating every 78 seconds. The signal is initially mistaken for Morse code split four ways, but scientists eventually decode it as the four nucleotides of RNA forming a complete genetic sequence for a novel lysogenic virus. Researchers synthesize the RNA sequence, convert it to DNA using reverse transcriptase, and inject it into laboratory animals at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). When the animal testing appears inconclusive, a scientist is bitten by an infected lab rat, triggering the first human infection. 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2026 film, Project Hail Mary.

Premise:

Check out our other episode covering the novel: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wytsi-17274e8

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2026 film, 28 Years Later: Bone Temple.

Premise: Set immediately after the events of 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple explores a fractured mainland where the uninfected survivors have become more dangerous than the virus. Young Spike is pulled deep into the violent, lawless cult of The Fingers, led by the charismatic and unhinged Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson deepens his macabre philosophical experiments in his titular Bone Temple, striking up a disturbing kinship with an evolved, Alpha infected, and testing a highly unstable chemical cocktail that blurs the line between a cure and torture.

Check out our other episodes on 28 Days Later (2003) and 28 Years Later (2025) for more!

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss S02E03 of NCIS: Origins, The Edge. We are joined by special guest, Patrick Cady, who directed the episode.

Patrick is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer-turned-director known for his visual storytelling on acclaimed series like Bosch and Insecure. He began his career working with legendary filmmaker John Sayles on films like Passion Fish and Sunshine State, and his cinematography credits include the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Girlfight. As a director, he has helmed pivotal episodes of Rectify, Interrogation, and the series finale of Bosch.

Premise: A young Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard arrives at Camp Pendleton from D.C. to evaluate whether the NIS team needs an in-house medical examiner. While the team is initially suspicious of his motives, Ducky helps them solve the case of Mimi Lam, a woman found frozen in a restaurant freezer.

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2009 Dr. Who special, The Waters of Mars.

Premise: Mars, 2059. At Bowie Base One, an international crew begins succumbing to “The Flood,” a sentient, water-borne infection released from a subsurface glacier. As the base falls, the Tenth Doctor confronts a “fixed point” in history and his own hubris as Time Lord Victorious. 

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected] 

In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 1982 film, The Thing.

Premise: Set in a remote Antarctic research station, The Thing tells the story of a group of American scientists who encounter a parasitic, shape-shifting extraterrestrial organism. This organism can assimilate and imitate other life forms with terrifying accuracy. The team must figure out how to identify and neutralize the creature before it can spread beyond their isolated outpost and threaten humanity.

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

Email us with recommendations on what to review next: [email protected]