#311 - Did SARS-CoV-2 Escape from a Lab?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with Matt Ridley and Alina Chan about the origins of the COVID pandemic. They discuss the evidence of a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, media and academic censorship of this topic, the history of collaboration between western scientists and Chinese labs, the risks of "gain-of-function" research, the evidence for the zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2, the initial complacency and denialism of the Chinese, the biosafety levels at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, molecular evidence of a lab leak, the practical constraints on synthesizing viruses, lack of international cooperation, conspiracy theories promulgated by the CCP, EcoHealth Alliance, different kinds of "gain-of-function" research, virus hunting, the history of lab leaks, risk and reward in the search for knowledge, Anthony Fauci, and other topics.</span></p> <p><strong>Matt Ridley</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a writer whose books have been translated into 31 languages and won several awards. His books include </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3Sg6Pxl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Red Queen</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3Z6LIPY" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Genome</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3lMiaca" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Rational Optimist</span></em></a>,<span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3XP3Dts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Evolution of Everything</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. His new book </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3k59eOM" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, co-authored with Alina Chan, was published in 2021.</span></p> <p><spa