Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream

If Books Could Kill

Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

Arts, Politics, Books, Society & Culture, News

4.6 • 8.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By popular demand we are releasing last month's Patreon bonus episode on the main feed! We chart the transformation of the lab leak from an unfounded theory promoted by right-wing cranks to an unfounded theory promoted by liberal journalists. Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Transcript

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0:00.0	That's you and everyone else in journalism.
0:02.2	What?
0:02.6	Little DM buddies.
0:03.6	Do you not DM buddy with other journalists?
0:05.7	No.
0:06.2	What?
0:06.6	Really?
0:07.0	They don't talk to me.
0:07.7	I don't talk to them.
0:08.4	It's called respect.
0:11.1	You're not in group chats with Mark Andresen?
0:13.0	I thought we were all in group chats with Mark Andreessen.
0:14.7	I don't even read journalism because that would color my opinion.
0:18.4	I just experience events.
0:20.5	Zing us, Peter, or are we giving up on the Zinger again?
0:22.9	That's give up.
0:23.5	What do you know about years two through five of the Lab League?
0:26.7	I'm going to be strategically looking for ways to bring back my joke about kissing the cats in the Wuhan market.
0:32.8	I was just going to give you shit about that. That since I listened to the episode again and you didn't, I was going to say whatever joke you make on this episode, I'm just going to silently go,
0:40.9	you said that last time. It's actually what you said last time. I would not be surprised if my brain
0:44.9	reproduces jokes thinking that they're original. You know, in Spain, they call it La Bleak,
0:50.8	because it is. That one's good. You're not laughing because of how good it is.
	...

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