#216 – Vincent Racaniello: Viruses and Vaccines

Lex Fridman Podcast

Vincent Racaniello is a virologist, immunologist, and microbiologist at Columbia. He is a co-author of the textbook Principles of Virology and co-host of This Week in Virology podcast. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Vincent’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/profvrr
Vincent’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/vincentracaniello
Vincent’s Podcast: https://www.microbe.tv/
Vincent’s Website: http://www.virology.ws/
Vincent’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/profvrr

PODCAST INFO:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:24) – Microbiology by numbers
(15:47) – From bacteria to an organism
(23:46) – AlphaFold 2
(27:44) – Simulating an evolutionary arms race
(53:11) – The most terrifying virus
(1:14:54) – SARS-CoV-2
(1:29:38) – Coronaviruses and Influenza. What’s the difference?
(1:35:45) – Vaccines
(1:41:43) – Lex on his reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine shot
(1:47:39) – Modern vaccines
(1:52:39) – How does mRNA vaccine work?
(1:55:26) – Are mRNA vaccines safe?
(2:21:52) – Lex on trust in authority
(2:36:59) – Ivermectin
(2:43:39) – Hydroxychloroquine
(2:48:22) – Variants and mutations
(2:55:20) – Testing
(3:03:27) – How does COVID-19 spread?
(3:06:37) – Masks
(3:15:05) – Bret Weinstein vs Sam Harris
(3:18:39) – This Week in Virology
(3:28:19) – Advice for young people
(3:30:42) – Meaning of life