The journalist and author Elaine Dewar discusses her new book On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years (Biblioasis, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years by Elaine Dewar (Biblioasis, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Elaine Dewar joins me again. She’s just published a new book, the fourth title in the Biblioasis Field Notes series. It’s not a pamphlet rather a comprehensive look at the COVID-19 pandemic. On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years reads like a novel in some parts, it orders the timeline, the events of the last eighteen to twenty-four months of living with this virus. Ms. Dewar looks at Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, the actual role bats played in the spread, as well as laboratories there and even in Canada. The government of China comes into focus, as its refusal to cooperate with the World Health Organization has cost countless lives not just in their country but around the world. Elaine has done tremendous, compulsive daily research, reading everything she can from news reports to scientific journals. I’ll ask her about the reliability of those journals, because a lot of us think when it says scientific it must be unimpeachable. She follows the money and shows us its part in getting some things wrong. Elaine Dewar is an author, journalist, and television story editor. Her journalism has been honoured with nine National Magazine awards. She was first on in 2017 with her acclaimed book The Handover. Her other books include Cloak of Green, Bones, and The Second Tree. Visit www.elainedewar.blogspot.com for more. She joined me from Toronto last week. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Elaine Dewar; Ms. Dewar, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (18.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS