I'm back in plenary session, virtual edition.

I'm joined by Jacob Hale Russell.

He is an associate professor of law at Rutgers University.

He is a former Wall Street Journal columnist.

He is joining us to talk about a new paper on masking, but more about elites and I think the pandemic.

Professor Russell, it's great to have you back.

It's great to be back.

Oh, well, boy, you know, I...

Though I shouldn't say that.

Is it great to be back?

Right.

A year ago, what I have said, we're going to have the same conversation a year from now.

It's been a year, huh?

Yeah, the last time we talked, I think, on this podcast has been about a year. And I hope it's a different conversation, but I think there are going to be a lot of the similar themes that we haven't learned from. Your new paper is out. It's in tablet magazine. And what's

the title? It's the mask delusion. Masked debacle. It's a debacle. And it is a debacle. Total debacle.

So I wonder, you know, we should at least cover some of the broad themes for listeners who haven't yet read it, but they have to read it because I think it's the best. And I've been tweeting up a storm

about it because I really do like it. Because I feel like all of the clues were in plain sight.

You saw all the clues. You put it together and you told the story of what actually happened.

And I think that's a story that a lot of people don't even understand, but that's what actually happened.

And I guess I'll maybe toss out a few things and then we'll go from there.

The first thing, how it all began, I think people forget, but pre-pandemic, we had a number of randomized control trials and influenza on masking.

They were generally negative. And that's why the consensus from World Health

...