'In Defense of Virology' featuring Simon Wain-Hobson (Episode 1: Why Virology Needs Defending)

In the inaugural episode of In Defense of Virology, Rutgers Professor and Science From the Fringe host, Bryce Nickels joins forces with distinguished virologist Simon Wain-Hobson for a new series that aims to defend virology from bad actors within.

Introducing this new segment, Wain-Hobson explains that the real threat to virology isn’t public skepticism, but the recklessness of insiders who promote dangerous gain-of-function (GOF) research and attempt to silence debate.

Drawing from his popular series of essays written for the Biosafety Now Substack newsletter, Simon dissects how flawed GOF studies, perverse incentives, and bureaucratic groupthink have compromised public support for virology, and by extension, science itself.

Bryce and Simon call for virology to reclaim its integrity—returning to an open, truth-driven discipline centered on understanding viral biology and advancing modern medicine.

(Recorded October 14, 2025)

Timestamps

00:31 — Why “In Defense of Virology” means defending the field from virologists themselves

05:26 — What “gain-of-function” really is—and why resurrecting viruses like the 1918 flu was a turning point

09:50 — The infamous NIH-funded H5N1 experiments: “zero benefit” for public health

12:08 — Fauci, Collins, and Nabel’s 2011 Washington Post op-ed that shut down dissent and imposed a “global omertà”

16:19 — How publishing viral blueprints enables anyone to recreate pathogens

23:01 — Why the line between dangerous GOF research and bioweapons research doesn’t exist

31:37 — Reclaiming virology’s legacy: from smallpox eradication to lifesaving vaccines

intro and outro by Tess Parks

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