Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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?
Expect to learn why biological war is scarier than nuclear war, what the first 6 days of a bioweapon outbreak will look like, why scientists are continuing to do gain-of-function research, why plagues are more attractive than nukes, what will happen to law & order and society as a whole if a plague breaks out and much more…
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Get 10% discount on all Gymshark products at https://gym.sh/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM10)
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Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at chatgpt.com
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0:00 Nuclear vs Biological War: Which Is Worse?
1:08 Why No One Is Talking About Bioweapons
4:23 Is Genetic Engineering a Good Thing?
7:14 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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Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - spotify.modernwisdom.com or Apple Podcasts - apple.modernwisdom.com
Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - neutonic.com/modernwisdom
-
Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: twitter.com/chriswillx
Email: chriswillx.com/contact
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?
Expect to learn why biological war is scarier than nuclear war, what the first 6 days of a bioweapon outbreak will look like, why scientists are continuing to do gain-of-function research, why plagues are more attractive than nukes, what will happen to law & order and society as a whole if a plague breaks out and much more…
-
Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular flavours with your first purchase at drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Get 160+ lab tests for just $365 and save an extra $25 at 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 join.whoop.com/modernwisdom
Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at chatgpt.com
-
0:00 Nuclear vs Biological War: Which Is Worse?
1:08 Why No One Is Talking About Bioweapons
4:23 Is Genetic Engineering a Good Thing?
7:14 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
-
Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - spotify.modernwisdom.com or Apple Podcasts - apple.modernwisdom.com
Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - neutonic.com/modernwisdom
-
Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: twitter.com/chriswillx
Email: chriswillx.com/contact
