Something Scary Is Happening In Biolabs - Annie Jacobsen - #1127
Modern Wisdom | Jul 23 2026 | 01:37:03
Annie Jacobsen is a journalist, investigative reporter and an author.
For decades, nuclear war has been humanity’s greatest existential fear. But the next global catastrophe may not arrive with a mushroom cloud—it could begin inside a laboratory. What would a biological attack actually look like, how quickly would it spread, and could humanity survive it?
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Nuclear vs Biological War: Which Is Worse?
(01:08) Why No One Is Talking About Bioweapons
(04:23) Is Genetic Engineering a Good Thing?
(07:14) What COVID Really Taught Us
(13:25) Who Created the First Biological Weapon?
(21:25) What Makes the Perfect Biological Weapon?
(26:44) The Soviet Bioweapons Ambition
(27:50) How the Soviet Program Was Exposed
(34:38) How Many Bioweapons Are Man-Made?
(37:30) The Biggest Mistakes in Bioweapons History
(45:04) What Happens in the First 24 Hours of a Leak?
(56:02) Bacteria vs Virus: Which Is More Dangerous?
(57:19) Does Dose Responsiveness Determine Survival?
(59:21) Are Incubation Time and Lethality Correlated?
(01:02:19) How the Soviets Created a Euphoric Plague
(01:08:39) Six Days: From Outbreak to Anarchy
(01:23:37) How Close COVID Came to Social Breakdown
(01:36:24) Where to Find Annie
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#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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For decades, nuclear war has been humanity’s greatest existential fear. But the next global catastrophe may not arrive with a mushroom cloud—it could begin inside a laboratory. What would a biological attack actually look like, how quickly would it spread, and could humanity survive it?
Sponsors:
See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals
Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Get 160+ lab tests for just $365 and save an extra $25 at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom
Get 10% discount on all Gymshark products at https://gym.sh/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM10)
Get the brand new Whoop 5.0 and your first month for free at https://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom
Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at https://chatgpt.com
Timestamps:
(00:00) Nuclear vs Biological War: Which Is Worse?
(01:08) Why No One Is Talking About Bioweapons
(04:23) Is Genetic Engineering a Good Thing?
(07:14) What COVID Really Taught Us
(13:25) Who Created the First Biological Weapon?
(21:25) What Makes the Perfect Biological Weapon?
(26:44) The Soviet Bioweapons Ambition
(27:50) How the Soviet Program Was Exposed
(34:38) How Many Bioweapons Are Man-Made?
(37:30) The Biggest Mistakes in Bioweapons History
(45:04) What Happens in the First 24 Hours of a Leak?
(56:02) Bacteria vs Virus: Which Is More Dangerous?
(57:19) Does Dose Responsiveness Determine Survival?
(59:21) Are Incubation Time and Lethality Correlated?
(01:02:19) How the Soviets Created a Euphoric Plague
(01:08:39) Six Days: From Outbreak to Anarchy
(01:23:37) How Close COVID Came to Social Breakdown
(01:36:24) Where to Find Annie
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
-
Get In Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact
-
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices