Pushkin.

It's hard to read the news these days without asking yourself, how did we get here?

Fiasco is a history podcast for the co-creators of Slow Burn.

In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examined an unmistakable turning point in American

politics, the 2000 election, which resulted in a high-stakes stalemate, ended with one of the most

controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. So if you're trying to make sense at the present

moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore. Listen on theHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

From Pushkin Industries, this is deep background, the show where we explore the stories behind the stories in the news.

I'm Noah Feldman. Today, we wanted to share with you a special episode, special because its subject matter

just seemed so pressing that we didn't think it was appropriate to wait.

We're going to talk to Mark Lipsich about the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Mark isn't just another expert on these topics.

He's professor of epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health

and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics there.

In other words, Mark is someone who has spent his entire career

trying to understand the behavior of viruses and what they do when they spread around the world,

and he is at the forefront

of analyzing what's going on with the coronavirus right now in real time. What Mark has to say

is more than a little bit disturbing. Mark, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy

schedules, saving the world to talk to me.

I'm very, very grateful.

Happy to do it.

...