The so called Wuhan lab theory about the origin of COVID-19 has gained enormous and mainstream traction in the past month, not least thanks to US president Joe Biden calling for a full investigation into it.

We’re still incredibly early on our path to understanding how the coronavirus which has ground the world to a near halt came to be.

Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire is joined by science reporter Liam Mannix, who says he is concerned the noise around the lab theory might be over-inflating the likelihood it’s the right explanation.

The so called Wuhan lab theory about the origin of COVID-19 has gained enormous and mainstream traction in the past month, not least thanks to US president Joe Biden calling for a full investigation into it.
We&rsquo;re still incredibly early on our path to understanding how the coronavirus which has ground the world to a near halt came to be.
Today on Please Explain,&nbsp;Tory Maguire is joined by science reporter Liam Mannix, who says he is concerned the noise around the lab theory might be over-inflating the likelihood it&rsquo;s the right explanation.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

Why is the Wuhan lab-leak theory of COVID-19 gaining so much traction?

This week we look at two stories about our public servants. The first story is about the faceless kind of public servant who toil in government departments, and the second story is about the political public servants at the heart of the Albanese government, as we discuss the different public and private roles of ministers. 

Joining Jacqueline Maley is national affairs editor James Massola and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

This week we look at two stories about our public servants. The first story is about the faceless kind of public servant who toil in government departments, and the second story is about the political public servants at the heart of the Albanese government, as we discuss the different public and private roles of ministers. 
Joining Jacqueline Maley is national affairs editor James Massola and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5apym">here</a>.

Inside Politics: ‘Delay, deny, die’ the human cost of cutting public servants

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/3aba2071-48f7-4dec-8aad-b1790072a648/transcript

For years, it has been the biggest question in geopolitics. Who will win the struggle for world domination? China? Or the United States? American president Joe Biden has dubbed it the “fight to win the 21st century”.

But behind the grandiose rhetoric, there is one tiny country stuck in the middle of these two superpowers. Taiwan, the independent country that China claims as its own.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Taiwan’s new president - a former political ‘hot-head’ inaugurated earlier this week - might manage his country’s struggle for sovereignty. And his citizens’ growing fear of invasion.

For years, it has been the biggest question in geopolitics. Who will win the struggle for world domination? China? Or the United States? American president Joe Biden has dubbed it the “fight to win the 21st century”.
But behind the grandiose rhetoric, there is one tiny country stuck in the middle of these two superpowers. Taiwan, the independent country that China claims as its own.
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Taiwan’s new president - a former political ‘hot-head’ inaugurated earlier this week - might manage his country’s struggle for sovereignty. And his citizens’ growing fear of invasion.

Taiwan’s new president was once a ‘hothead’. Can he beat back China?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/6a6bfcd2-af6c-4a57-8d5d-b178004feba8/transcript

It’s not everyday that an Australian artwork gets thrust into the global spotlight, let alone becomes a punchline on a hugely popular American late night talk show.

But all that changed last week, after news broke that Australia’s richest woman demanded that her portrait be taken down from the walls of The National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra.

Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, who helped break this story on why it’s gone viral, and how Gina Rinehart’s lengths to remove the portrait speak to the heart of Vincent Namatjira’s artwork, a satire about wealth and influence.

It’s not everyday that an Australian artwork gets thrust into the global spotlight, let alone becomes a punchline on a hugely popular American late night talk show.
But all that changed last week, after news broke that Australia’s richest woman demanded that her portrait be taken down from the walls of The National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra.
Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, who helped break this story on why it’s gone viral, and how Gina Rinehart’s lengths to remove the portrait speak to the heart of Vincent Namatjira’s artwork, a satire about wealth and influence.

Gina Rinehart and the portraits that captivated the world

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/b598d0a3-4962-4c5d-8234-b177008faedf/transcript

Why is the Wuhan lab-leak theory of COVID-19 gaining so much traction?

In 1 playlist(s)

The Morning Edition

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips