Talking Politics

David and Helen talk this week with Amy Maxmen, senior reporter at Nature.  Amy has covered the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa and now COVID-19 in the US. Does she see comparisons between the two? What explains the failures of the US response? Can the WHO still make a difference? Plus we explore the implications of the growing politicisation of science. When did data become so divisive?Talking Points:There are significant parallels between what is happening now and epidemics such as ebola.Outbreaks turn slight cracks into gaping holes: they reveal political and systemic issues.Politics made the ebola outbreak in DRC worse.Conspiracy theories emerged that ebola was being used to suppress the political opposition.Ultimately Tedros and other experts were able to convince both politicians and local leaders to focus on the public health response instead of the politics.The parallels to the US now are clear, but could any figure get past the politics? Fo