Podcast: Politics, Apathy Doomed Pandemic Response Long Before COVID

By Cameron English and ChuckDinerstein — May 13, 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic weaknesses in our disaster preparedness infrastructure. Despite prior warnings, politics and apathy nurtured a response system that prioritized appearances — e.g., a national stockpile of rotting N-95 masks — over effective interventions. Perverse incentives encouraged officials to drag their feet when time was short, a failure leading to poor coordination and resource allocation that couldn't counter a global viral threat. We desperately need reforms that will work with human nature during a disaster instead of against it. What do those look like? Let's dive in.

Image via Pixabay

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 115 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss:

We Were Warned. We Still Failed

It is easy to promise readiness for the next disaster; it is much harder to maintain the political and public will to prepare. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed leadership failures and systemic design flaws that left us exposed. We built a pandemic response system optimized for appearances rather than effectiveness. A recent review moves past partisan narratives, offering a sharper, more unsettling diagnosis: our institutions failed because they were designed against our very human nature.

Listen to the Science Dispatch on iTunes Spotify, Stitcher and Google Podcasts. Or add the RSS feed to your favorite podcast app. Join our Dispatch newsletter to get these stories and more delivered to your inbox.

Tags:

Cameron English

Director of Bioscience

Cameron English is a writer, editor and co-host of the Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast. Before joining ACSH, he was managing editor at the Genetic Literacy Project.