The following is a conversation with Vincent Reckanielo, professor of microbiology and immunology

at Columbia.

Vincent is one of the best educators in biology and in general that I've ever had the pleasure

of speaking with.

I highly recommend you check out his this week in Verology Podcast and watch his introductory

lectures on YouTube.

In particular, the playlist I recommend is called Verology Lectures 2021.

To support this podcast, please check out the sponsors in the description.

As a side note, please allow me to say a few words about the COVID vaccines.

Some people are scared of a virus hurting or killing somebody they love.

Some are scared of their government betraying them.

Their leaders blinded by power and greed.

I have both of these fears, and two, I'm afraid, as FDR said, a fear itself.

Fear manifests as anger and anger leads to division in the hands of charismatic leaders,

who then manufacture truth in quotes that maximize controversy and a sense of imminent crisis

that only they can save us from.

And though I'm sometimes mocked for this, I still believe that love, compassion, empathy

is the way out from this vicious downward spiral of division.

I personally took the vaccine, based on my understanding of the data, deciding that

for me, the risk of negative effects from COVID, short-term and long-term are far worse than

the negative effects from the mRNA vaccine.

I read, I thought, I decided, for me.

...