The wildlife trade may be speeding up the next pandemic

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman talks with Yale University epidemiologist Colin Carlson about new research showing that the global wildlife trade is spreading dangerous pathogens far faster than scientists once thought. The conversation challenges the idea that pandemic risks are limited to distant “wet markets,” revealing how everyday wildlife trade—from pet stores to industrial farms—brings animals, people and diseases into close contact. Carlson explains why a stronger investment in basic science is critical to preventing the next COVID‑like pandemic. Recommended Reading: “Wildlife trade drives animal-to-human pathogen transmission over 40 years,” in Science, Vol. 392; April 9, 2026 How the wildlife trade boosts the chance of a disease jumping from animals to humans E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:38.9	What comes to mind when you think about wildlife trade and diseases like COVID-19?
1:45.1	If you live in the U.S., you probably picture so-called wet markets in Asia, where people buy and sell animal meat in an open-air setting, or perhaps foreign-sounding bushmeat.
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