Poison arsenal – The deadly return of bioweapons

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Podmasters

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Though Saddam Hussein tried to develop them and North Korea is accused of stockpiling them, biological weapons have been considered taboo for decades. Theoretically they’re banned. But intelligence agencies and military leaders are increasingly warning of wider clandestine programmes to develop deadly mass toxins, and A.I. is lowering the barriers to entry dramatically. As governments scramble to keep up and frontier tech runs out of control, are we about to enter a new age of bioweapons and bioterrorism? Gavin Esler talks to Dr Cassidy Nelson, director of biosecurity policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, about this rising threat and what we can do about it. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people? Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. • Support us on Patreon to keep This Is Not A Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:59.0	If the world right now doesn't seem crazy enough, here's a future potential risk, or perhaps a threat to all of us.
1:15.1	It's a risk that's being taken seriously by governments, national security experts and military organizations.
1:21.1	It's the potential threat of biological weapons and bioterrorism.
1:26.0	In theory, at least, biological weapons are banned worldwide by the
1:29.2	Biological Weapons Convention of 1975. But in theory, Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear
1:35.2	weapons, and we've seen how that turned out. In our new world disorder, especially after the
1:40.6	coronavirus pandemic, the nightmarish threat of bioweapons development remains both real
1:46.0	and serious. We're going team working to safeguard again. Dr. Cassidy Nelson is Director of Biosecurity Policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience.
2:19.8	She leads a team working to safeguard against pandemics and to address extreme biological risks.
2:25.4	Cassidy, welcome to This is Not a Drill.
2:27.7	Thank you, Gavin. Very glad to be here.
	...

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