The Chinese Lab Theory

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2020

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone wants to know where the coronavirus came from. In the absence of a clear explanation, several theories are circulating — including one, pushed by the Trump administration, that the pandemic started because of malpractice in a lab in Wuhan, China. But is that a secret the Chinese government is keeping, or a mystery no one knows the answer to? Guest: Julian E. Barnes, who covers national security for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Leaders in the intelligence community have said there is no indication the virus is man-made, but have yet to reach a conclusion on its origins. While many scientists say the virus most likely made the leap from an animal to a human in southern China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump continue to link the outbreak to a government lab.Some national security analysts are worried that pressure from senior Trump administration officials could distort assessments about the origin of the coronavirus and be used as a weapon in an escalating battle with China.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the world of intelligence, there's this old adage that there are secrets and mysteries.
0:08.4	Secrets are something that one government hides from another.
0:14.4	Mysteries are things that your intelligence community can't answer for you.
0:23.3	The difference matters to an intelligence agency like the CIA because if something's a secret
0:31.6	then it's information they can go out and find or steal.
0:36.6	But if something's a mystery, there is no information to get.
0:42.1	And this adage has come up a lot in recent weeks.
0:46.1	It is really a crucial question as intelligence agencies are looking at where this coronavirus
0:54.0	came from.
0:56.1	Did it come from a lab in China and does the Chinese government know it?
1:04.0	Is that a secret that's being kept or is it a mystery that nobody knows?
1:16.0	From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro.
1:18.7	This is the Daily.
1:25.4	In the absence of a clear explanation for how the coronavirus started, several theories
1:32.8	have circulated.
1:35.8	Today, Julian Barnes on the Chinese lab theory.
1:43.2	It's Thursday, May 7.
1:54.8	Julian, tell me about this theory that I know has taken hold pretty much across the United
2:00.8	States about the origins of this virus.
2:04.9	Well, it's kind of a vague theory when you hear people talk about it.
2:09.7	There's all kinds of different versions.
2:14.5	Did it come from that infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology?
	...

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