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What would happen if a genetically modified biological weapon escaped from a laboratory and began spreading around the world?

In this episode Professor Jeffrey Sachs speaks with award-winning investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen about her latest book, Biological War: A Scenario, a chilling exploration of the risks posed by biological weapons in an age of rapidly advancing biotechnology.

Drawing on interviews with scientists, military officials, and national security experts, Jacobsen examines how advances in genetic engineering could make dangerous pathogens more transmissible, more lethal, and more resistant to existing medical treatments. She walks through a fictional scenario in which an accidental laboratory release triggers a rapidly spreading outbreak, exposing how quickly fear, uncertainty, and institutional failures could overwhelm public health systems and social order.

Sachs and Jacobsen also explore the history of biological weapons programs, the limitations of international treaties, and the challenges of distinguishing defensive research from work that could enable biological warfare. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, they discuss the importance of scientific transparency, rigorous investigation, and learning from past crises rather than allowing political divisions to stand in the way.

A sobering conversation about the dangers of biological weapons, the urgent need for stronger global oversight of biotechnology, and the responsibility of governments and scientists to prevent catastrophic risks before they become reality.

The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.

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Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Professor Sven Beckert for a compelling discussion of his book Capitalism: A Global History, a sweeping account of the economic system that has transformed how we live, work, and organize our societies.

Together, they explore the origins and evolution of capitalism over the past millennium, challenging the idea that it was simply a Western invention. Beckert traces capitalism’s development across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, examining the roles of trade, state power, imperial expansion, slavery, technological change, and labor in shaping the global economy.

The conversation considers how capitalism became the defining economic system of the modern world—and the human costs and inequalities that accompanied its rise. Beckert also examines how capitalism has been shaped by people and communities often left out of traditional histories, from merchants and workers to enslaved people and those who resisted the system.

This episode offers a sweeping new perspective on the history of capitalism, revealing it not as an inevitable or timeless system, but as a relatively recent human creation whose global legacy continues to shape our world today.

The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.

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📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.

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Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and philosopher Professor Steven Nadler for a thought-provoking discussion of Baruch Spinoza and Nadler’s book, Spinoza: Atheist.

Together, they explore Spinoza’s extraordinary life, his excommunication from Amsterdam’s Jewish community, and his groundbreaking ideas about religion, science, politics, and human freedom. At the heart of the conversation is Spinoza’s controversial conception of God: was he an atheist, a pantheist, or something else entirely?

Sachs and Nadler examine Spinoza’s rejection of a personal and providential God, his belief in understanding nature through reason and science, and his vision of morality grounded not in divine reward or punishment, but in virtue, freedom, and human flourishing.

The conversation also explores Spinoza’s connections to Aristotle and Epicurus, his lasting influence on modern thought, and Albert Einstein’s famous admiration for “Spinoza’s God.”

The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.

⭐️ Thanks for listening to Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs!

📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.

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➡️ Subscribe to the newsletter for episode updates, readings, and behind-the-scenes insights: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS

➡️ Explore past episodes, show notes, and featured books: https://bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org

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