{"id":34737,"date":"2026-08-09T16:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34737"},"modified":"2026-08-09T16:19:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:19:46","slug":"annie-jacobsen-on-why-biological-war-is-a-threat-we-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34737","title":{"rendered":"Annie Jacobsen on why biological war is a threat we ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Of all the extinction-level threats vying for our attention, AI, climate change, and nuclear war tend to get most of the airplay. But Annie Jacobsen thinks biological war should be near the top of our mental list of doomsday scenarios, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">She should know \u2014 Jacobsen has carved out a unique niche as America\u2019s foremost reporter on the ways we could end the world. Her bestselling 2024 book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-gray-area\/356044\/nuclear-annihilation-annie-jacobsen\"><em>Nuclear War: A Scenario<\/em><\/a> terrified readers and experts alike, and has been optioned by Hollywood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">It was while conducting dozens of interviews with high-level government sources for <em>Nuclear War<\/em> that Jacobsen was told repeatedly that biowarfare should be her next focus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">She took their advice. Her gripping new book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/783250\/biological-war-by-annie-jacobsen\/\"><em>Biological War: A Scenario<\/em><\/a> follows a similar ticking-clock format that shows, step by step, just how a humanity-threatening man-made biological catastrophe could play out. (Spoiler alert: not great.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The result feels like dystopian science fiction, albeit the kind that comes heavily footnoted with government studies that come to similarly grim conclusions. The fact that tech CEOs are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/top-ai-ceos-call-for-law-protecting-against-biological-weapons-88f2f99f\">sounding the alarm<\/a> that advanced AI could make creating killer germs even easier only adds to the growing sense of anxiety. And this book has also been <a href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/annie-jacobsens-biological-war-is-coming-to-tv-2000792072\">optioned<\/a> by Hollywood for a TV adaptation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Jacobsen sat down with <em>Today, Explained<\/em> host Noel King to talk through the plot of her nightmare scenario, why we\u2019re still developing biological weapons despite the clear risks, and what needs to happen to avoid disaster. Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There\u2019s much more in the full podcast, so listen to <em>Today, Explained<\/em> wherever you get podcasts, including <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/trumps-chief-culture-warrior\/id1346207297?i=1000725937911\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pandora.app.link\/jgYqd4gxyWb\">Pandora<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/5oPbXLokOOJp6SmihchBtz?si=786ca5a143a94e34\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>How does your book start?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The inciting incident in the book is an accident at a Biosafety Level 4 lab, shorthand BSL-4, in Siberia called Vector. And it\u2019s an actual BSL-4 lab, the highest classification. &#8230; And there was an actual accident, <a href=\"https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/2019\/11\/what-happened-after-an-explosion-at-a-russian-disease-research-lab-called-vector\/\">an explosion there in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">In that real-life incident, a deadly pathogen was not released that we know of. But of course, in <em>Biological War: A Scenario<\/em>, a deadly pathogen is released. And it\u2019s a form of pneumonic plague, which is a nightmare pathogen and sits at the top of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.selectagents.gov\/sat\/list.htm\">Tier 1 select agent list of the CDC<\/a>. And so in the first act of the book, I show the scrambling of the intelligence community and the Defense Department, trying desperately to determine if something got out and what it is. &#8230; The release of the pathogen widens, and so once you have escape. You do not have mitigation, which has to happen in the first 24, 48 hours. Now you have a situation which is unstoppable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>You say this is now an unstoppable scenario. What is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">A plague itself, of course, conjures up images and ideas of the bubonic plague of the 14th century, the Black Death. That killed between <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4013036\/\">one half and one third of Europe<\/a>. The bacteria is called Yersinia pestis. And pneumonic plague is the airborne version of plague. The problem with an airborne pathogen is that because the delivery system is the human lungs, it can move very quickly from a scientist in that lab who now has Yersinia pestis in his lungs out to the general public. And that is precisely what happens in the scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>How does it spread from there? The city where this BSL-4 lab sits isn\u2019t Moscow. What happens once the pathogen is in the lungs of the people who work in that lab, or the janitor who was cleaning it that night?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">That\u2019s right. Well, suddenly it\u2019s in everyone\u2019s lungs, and those people go out into their community. And even though Koltsovo, the science town where Vector is located, is a small town, it is just 12 miles from Novosibirsk, which is the third-largest city in Russia. And, also, there happens to be in this scenario a group of international hunters on a hunting trip in that area who come across a dying scientist in the snow. One of them gives him CPR, being the Good Samaritan that he is. And lo and behold, those travelers suddenly are now getting on an airplane in Novosibirsk, flying home to where they reside in five or six of the continents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>What makes this form of plague so novel, so dangerous?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">I pull this information from actual facts of the Soviet Cold War-era biological weapons program that we know about from Soviet defectors. And I want you to keep in mind: This is 40 years ago when gene editing was in its infancy. But there are two things specifically that the Soviet bioweapons engineers did to plague.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Their idea was to create a super plague weapon. And one of them has never been revealed before. They were working to insert the gene for euphoria into the plague pathogen. &#8230; When you get a disease, a pneumonic-type disease, pneumonia, tubercular, you want to go home and get under the covers because you feel terrible. And when you do that, you\u2019re infecting a lot less people than you would if a gene for euphoria had been inserted into the pathogen, which would make you feel terrific, which would make you want to go out and socialize with people, perhaps even go to a crowded disco.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And the other thing that the Soviet scientists were working on was a way to defeat medical countermeasures, but with an added component of psychological distress. They inserted a gene into the pathogen that would be triggered by the taking of antibiotics. And that second pathogen would give you encephalitis, which is a swelling of the brain. The psychological part of it, according to the Soviet scientists, was that they wanted the last thought of the person dying of what they thought was pneumonic plague, but would in fact be encephalitist to be, \u201cMy government and Western medicine has failed me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Those of us who try to remain optimistic think there\u2019s a way to stop it. In the movies, there\u2019s an outbreak, then the government gets it under control, and okay, maybe a lot of people die, but we\u2019re all right. That is not where your book is headed. How does your scenario end?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">So in the book, I take readers from outbreak to anarchy in six days. Anarchy is what will happen according to Pentagon war gaming and pandemic planning. And this is because fear of infection becomes a secondary weapon, if you will. People begin to behave like they are about to die, which is most certainly underpinning everyone\u2019s mind. And so after those first six days, the Principals Committee, the President\u2019s Biodefense Committee, must make a decision. The president has to declare the Insurrection Act, which allows the military to step in as a law enforcement agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv42 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-pullquote _1jt1ljb0\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1jt1ljb2 pn04iq9\">\u201cImagine the president \u2014 with a few Secret Service outside the door, the military aide with the nuclear football \u2014 sitting alone in a room wearing a gas mask.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">What happens to the president really blew my mind as a reporter. He goes somewhere in the United States very far away from everyone. Because the idea, the goal, is to make sure that the president doesn\u2019t get the airborne pathogen in his lungs. So maybe I\u2019ll leave you with an image. Imagine the president \u2014 with a few Secret Service outside the door, the military aide with the nuclear football \u2014 sitting alone in a room wearing a gas mask.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>In the book, the people who survive are the ones who have gas masks. Everyone else is gone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And look, we hope we never get to that, by all means. But yes, the Pentagon has issued 1.7 million gas masks to its military personnel. And that is a spooky thought in and of itself, coupled with the idea that the military is predominantly male. There\u2019s something like 17 percent women in the military. And so, unlike the <em>Nuclear War<\/em> scenario in which I had science-based nuclear winter theory to work from, in <em>Biological War<\/em>, nothing has been written on the science record about what it might be after. And so the one imaginative part of the book is the very end where I write about biological twilight. &#8230; And it is a very, very ugly world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Let\u2019s back up. We did outlaw biological weapons at some point, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">That\u2019s right. Very mysteriously in 1969, President Nixon just unilaterally <a href=\"https:\/\/inss.ndu.edu\/Media\/News\/Article\/693764\/president-nixons-decision-to-renounce-the-us-offensive-biological-weapons-progr\/\">declared that the arsenal was going to be destroyed<\/a>. At the same time that all of the nations of the world were working to sign this treaty called the Biological Weapons Convention Treaty, which would outlaw bioweapons. Soviet Russia at the time signed it but immediately began work on an illegal biological weapons program that was colossal. And this went without notice, without any idea really by the CIA and the Pentagon all the way until 1989, when one of the Soviet scientists named Vladimir Pasechnik <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hiddenwiltshire.com\/post\/vladimir-artemovich-pasechnik-the-hero-amongst-us\">had a crisis of conscience<\/a> and he defected and he told British intelligence all about the program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Where have we seen biological weapons used?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Maybe the most important example of a biological attack in the past, certainly here in the United States, are the anthrax attacks, which occurred right after 9\/11. Weaponized anthrax <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/history\/cases-and-criminals\/amerithrax-or-anthrax-investigation\">was sent<\/a> through the mail to US senators and a number of media outlets. So five people ended up dying; 22 got sick in four states. But that really kicked off what can be considered the biological military-industrial complex, if you will, which led to this buildup in BSL-4 labs around the world today. There are 110 BSL-4 labs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/391909807_Mapping_biosafety_level_3_BSL-3_and_BSL-4_laboratories_for_public_health_threats_reduction\">around the world<\/a>. There are more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2588933826000178\">than 3,500 BSL-3 labs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Your book has a map of where those labs are, which I found weirdly comforting, mainly because I don\u2019t live too near any of them. If one of these things is going to be released, either accidentally or deliberately, where is the threat coming from? A rogue nation? Terrorists?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Certainly, bad actors getting a hold of a biological weapon was the great concern of the post-anthrax situation. And that is why so much emphasis was put on bioterrorism. Now I avoided that specifically in the book. &#8230; And I didn\u2019t even have an attack. Rather, I had an incident. I had a lab leak because I have learned in the decades since that really is the greatest concern. So many of these BSL-3 and 4 labs are in places without a lot of security, including in countries where there are wars going on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Could somebody be making a biological weapon in a basement somewhere, off books?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Absolutely. And another disturbing document I came across, unclassified in the Pentagon, was a threat spectrum that showed weapons of mass destruction in terms of destructiveness. And of course, nuclear weapons sit at the far end of the spectrum. They are the most destructive. But very close behind were biological weapons. And even more startling was the notion that biological weapons present the greatest overall threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Nuclear weapons have an extremely high barrier for entry. You have to have fissile material. &#8230; You have to have a weapons delivery system like an ICBM or a submarine. &#8230; That creates a situation where most nuclear weapons, all nuclear weapons, if you will, are in the hands of a command-and-control system within a nation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Biological weapons have no such barriers. In fact, the barriers for entry are getting lower literally by the day. You now can have a situation where someone with very limited knowledge of biology can create a biological weapon in their basement with the use of computational systems like an AI system, for example.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Your book reads like a thriller. How much have you exaggerated? How much have you novelized in order to hold our attention?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Everything in the book is based in science fact, meaning all of the facts, all of the figures. I write a hundred or so pages of notes in the back of the book for readers to be able to answer the question that you are asking me. &#8230; In the notes, you can find that answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Did any of those people give you good recommendations for how to avoid a disaster scenario, or at least how to avoid these things proliferating?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Well, you know, the ticking clock scenario that I write has an even more urgent ticking clock, which is the public\u2019s pressure on lawmakers to absolutely do something about this nightmare scenario before it happens. Look, we have a world right now where you have the CEOs of the largest AI companies in the world <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/top-ai-ceos-call-for-law-protecting-against-biological-weapons-88f2f99f\">admitting publicly<\/a> that the lane of bio mixed with AI is of their top concern. You don\u2019t hear that about nuclear. You hear that about bio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>How do you sleep through the night?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Anyone who knows me personally can vouch for the fact that I am an optimist at heart. I really believe that information is king. Once you know things, it gives you a lot of power. Perhaps that\u2019s whistling by the graveyard, but that\u2019s what works for me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Do you have a biohazard suit?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">I do not. I do not. But I do have a few gas masks. I must tell the truth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"_1tzd3in0 _10sa9om11\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in1\">You\u2019ve read <!-- -->1<!-- --> article<!-- --> in the last month<\/p>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in2\">\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in3\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">Here at Vox, we&#8217;re unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you \u2014 threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a<!-- --> <!-- -->Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in4\">We rely on readers like you \u2014 join us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in5\"><img alt=\"Swati Sharma\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"59\" height=\"69\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/_next\/image?url=%2Fstatic-assets%2Fheadshots%2Fswati.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"_1tzd3in7\">\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in8\">Swati Sharma<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1tzd3in9\">Vox Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Of all the extinction-level threats vying for our attention, AI, climate change, and nuclear war tend to get most of the airplay. But Annie Jacobsen thinks biological war should be near the top of our mental list of doomsday scenarios, too. She should know \u2014 Jacobsen has carved out a unique niche as America\u2019s foremost&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-97197460.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=6.2356158833063%2C0%2C87.528768233387%2C100&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}