Hey y'all, this is Ashley in Victoria, Texas, and I'm getting ready to walk into a job interview.

I am just a bundle of nerves right now, so I'm trying to distract myself by recording this time stamp.

This podcast was recorded at 1.12 pm on Tuesday, February 28th.

Things may have changed by the time you hear this. Hopefully, I'll have a different job.

Alright, here's the show.

Good luck. Oh, I hope it went well. I know those job nerves can really get to you.

Hey there, it's the MPR Politics Podcast. I'm Susan Davis, I cover politics.

And I'm Tamer Keith. I cover the White House.

And we're joined by MPR correspondence Greg Myri, who covers intelligence and Michaeline Duclef

from our science desk. Welcome to you both.

Thanks. Thank you.

It's a bigger than usual cast for today's episode because it's a complicated topic.

We're going to talk about the origins of the coronavirus that sparked the worldwide pandemic about three years ago.

Where the virus came from has been the topic of much political and scientific debate.

And the Wall Street Journal added to that debate this week with an exclusive report that the US Department of Energy concluded

in a classified intelligence report that the COVID pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak in China.

Now we should note, MPR has not independently corroborated the Wall Street Journal's reporting,

but it's a credible report and the DOE has not disputed it. So let's talk about it.

Greg, what does this classified report allegedly say about where the virus started?

Well, it was written by the Energy Department and apparently it's been provided to the White House and some members of Congress.

Now, the Wall Street Journal said it spoke to people who have read the report,

but the intelligence itself is classified. So they didn't share the evidence, whatever it may be,

...