On October 18th, the White House released an expansive new strategy on Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security. 

The strategy sets out a whole-of-government approach to mitigating biological risks. This includes naturally occurring pathogens as well as dangerous new pathogens created in a lab. 

In this episode, we speak with Nikki Teran, Director of Biosecurity Policy at Guarding Against Pandemics. We discuss the substance of the new US biodefense strategy -- its strengths, weaknesses, and potential barriers to implementation. Nikki Teran also describes as the Bio-risk threat landscape writ large,  including the pathogens and broader trends in biosecurity that a strategy like this seeks to mitigate.