Inside WSJ Opinion’s ‘The Lockdown Dissidents’
WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch
The Wall Street Journal
4.2 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 June 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
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| 0:32.6 | From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch. |
| 0:41.0 | What happens when the government and elites shut down scientific debate, especially by controversial policies and subjects. |
| 0:49.4 | That's what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and the government lockdowns of schools and businesses |
| 0:56.3 | for months and in some parts of the country years. A new documentary from Wall Street Journal |
| 1:02.5 | opinion tells the story of the lockdown dissidents. A few scientists who thought the lockdowns |
| 1:08.6 | were a mistake at the time and said so, only to be |
| 1:12.9 | derided, blacklisted, and censored with the encouragement of those in power in Washington, |
| 1:19.1 | in universities, and the press corps. That is the subject of our podcast today here on Potomac. |
| 1:27.3 | Watch the Daily Podcast of Wall Street Journal |
| 1:29.4 | Opinion. Welcome. I'm Paul as you go, the editor of the opinion pages. And my guest today |
| 1:34.5 | are the executive producer of this documentary, Michael Pack and our partner on WSJ Opinion Docks, |
| 1:42.4 | and James Toronto, the editorial features editor of Wall Street Journal |
| 1:47.5 | Opinion, who ran many of the op-eds that were written by the dissidents long before the |
| 1:53.6 | others on the press caught on. So, welcome to you both. Good to have you here. Let's start with you, Michael. |
| 2:00.7 | Why don't you set the stage for this documentary? What you tried to do with it for our audience. |
... |
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