Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss a striking pattern in countries around the world — their leadership’s denial about the threat posed by coronavirus. They show how denial helped the disease spread out of China and contributed to serious outbreaks in places like Iran and the United States, and note that — despite everything that happened — denial is still happening in places like Mexico and Brazil. They conclude by trying to explain why, in such different countries with such different political systems, denial seems to remain a huge problem.

References:

Vox has stories on Brazil, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and India, and many more are coming — so stay tuned.   

Here’s the Reuters article Jenn cited on the show about Japan.

Iranian leaders prioritized politics over health.

Saudi Arabia announced its second death from coronavirus so far.

The Post piece comparing the United States and Brazil that Zack mentioned.

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

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