Hoover InstitutionStanford University

Jay Bhattacharya returns to GoodFellows—now as NIH director and acting CDC director—for a candid conversation on what COVID got wrong, why science needs a replication revolution, and how to restore public trust. Jay takes on the legacy of lockdowns, school closures, Fauci, gain-of-function research, China, AI-enabled biosecurity risks, vaccine questions, and the fight to make scientific dissent possible again.

Then: Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, AI guardrails, democratic socialism, and what Homer can still teach us about war.

Recorded on August 4, 2026.

Cast

John H. Cochrane

John H. Cochrane

Sir Niall Ferguson

Sir Niall Ferguson

H.R. McMaster

H.R. McMaster

Jay Bhattacharya

Jay Bhattacharya

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