Coronavirus: Why Our Governments Failed & Lied to Us

In response to the coronavirus, Western governments have told a story that because nobody expected this pandemic, they have had no choice but to enact unprecedented measures and collectively spend trillions to protect our health and economies. This episode exposes why this story is a lie.

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References:

• ‘Trade Adviser Warned White House in January of Risks of a Pandemic’, Maggie Haberman, New York Times.
• ‘The Next Epidemic — Lessons from Ebola’, Bill Gates, The New England Journal of Medicine.
• ‘We Were Warned’, Uri Friedman, The Atlantic.
• ‘Taiwan has only 77 coronavirus cases. Its response to the crisis shows that swift action and widespread healthcare can prevent an outbreak.’, Isaac Scher, Business Insider.
• ‘Timeline: how Australia responded to the coronavirus outbreak’, Paul Karp, The Guardian.
• Joseph Norman, Yaneer Bar-Yam, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Systemic risk of pandemic via novel pathogens – Coronavirus: A note, New England Complex Systems Institute (January 26, 2020).
• ‘#102 – Michael Osterholm, Ph.D.: COVID-19—Lessons learned, challenges ahead, and reasons for optimism and concern’, The Peter Attia Drive Podcast.
• ‘Taiwan's coronavirus protocol might be seen as 'extreme' to Canadians, but it works’, Timothy Sly, Macleans.
• ‘Infection Control: Evidence Summary’, Australian Government Department of Health.
• ‘Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza’, Australian Government Department of Health, August 2019.
• ‘COVID-19 National Health Plan – National Medical Stockpile – Purchase of Masks, Other Personal Protective Equipment and Pharmaceuticals’, Australian Government Department of Health.
• ‘Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community’, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 29 January 2019.
• ‘We practised for a pandemic, but didn’t brace’, Ian Boyd, Nature.
• ‘World not prepared for the next big pandemic: report’, Leslie Young, Global News. 
• ‘Officials warned Canada couldn’t enforce coronavirus quarantine for travellers from China: memo’, Beatrice Britneff & Amanda Connolly, Global News.
• ‘Ottawa had a playbook for a coronavirus-like pandemic 14 years ago. What went wrong?’, Kathy Tomilson & Grant Robertson, The Globe and Mail.
• ‘Canadian military intelligence unit issued warning about Wuhan outbreak back in January’, CBC, Murray Brewster.
• ‘Timeline of the Coronavirus Pandemic and U.S. Response’, Ryan Goodman & Danielle Schulkin, Just Security.
• ‘Management of the National Medical Stockpile’, ANAO Audit Report No.53 2013–14.
• ‘Everyone Thinks They’re Right About Masks’, Ed Yong, The Atlantic.
• ‘Information on surgical masks – Version 6 (14/04/2020)’, Australian Government, Department of Health.
• ‘Respiratory Infection Transmission (Community) Face Masks and Respirators (AS-1)’, Joanna Briggs Institute.
• ‘COVID-19 - virtual press conference - 30 March 2020’, WHO.
• ‘Statement on healthcare worker use of PPE when caring for suspected, or confirmed COVID-19 patients’, Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
• ‘Taiwan’s Success Is the Bane of Beijing’s Global Coronavirus Propaganda’, Jo Kim, The Diplomat.
• ‘Coronavirus outbreak prompts warning for Australian GPs to wear masks during consultations’, ABC. 
• ‘COVID-19: WHY WE SHOULD ALL WEAR MASKS — THERE IS NEW SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE’, Sui Hang, Medium.
• ‘US intelligence agencies warned of virus in November | WNT’, ABC News, YouTube.
• ‘Americans are not rallying around Donald Trump during the pandemic’, The Economist.

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Music: Julian Angelatos

Artwork: Nerpa Mate