What are the risks associated with being able to create custom DNA?  Today's podcast discusses the potential weaponization of synthesized nucleic acid sequences. Dr. Kevin Esvelt discusses synthetic DNA and synthetic viruses, along with the possibility that they may drive the next pandemics or become the basis for future biological weapons. The dark realities are discussed, along with surveillance and mitigation strategies, as well as the broken social trust that could fuel a human-made pandemic.