PANDA | Science. Sense. Society.

Dr Randall Bock speaks about the societal change that influenced how addiction was treated. Open Session snippet from his full presentation "Methadone Maintenance Ignited America’s Opioid Crisis" Watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/3Wo4zaE

The opioid epidemic, widely believed to be caused by the aggressive marketing of OxyContin and pharmaceutical greed, actually has deeper roots in the medicalization of addiction. The pivotal shift occurred in the 1960s with the introduction of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), which substituted one narcotic for another, fostering a cycle of dependency. Unlike other addictions treated with sobriety, opioid addiction uniquely embraced the disease model, likening methadone to insulin for diabetics. This paradigm shift ignored successful past strategies focusing on sobriety and societal disapproval. The result has been a significant increase in opioid dependency, highlighting the need to revisit moral and adaptive approaches to addiction, promoting personal responsibility and resilience over perpetual medical maintenance. Randall Bock MD is a primary care physician practicing in the Boston Massachusetts area. He is a published author, having written the book ‘Overturning Zika’, which brings to light the highly speculative, highly doubtful underpinnings of that pandemic. Randy has also applied such thinking to the Covid 19 pandemic, and early on he wrote on the absurdity of the high levels of Covid testing in areas, or at times, where there we're few symptoms. Randy hosts a weekly "coronavirus conversation" videocast at his "viral conversation" page on Facebook, and blogs at http://randybock.com Links: https://brownstone.org/articles/methadone-maintenance-ignited-americas-opioid-crisis/ There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 26 June 2024

Artist and writer, Francis O'Neill, shares the impact of directly interacting with people during the UK lockdown. Open Session Snippet from Francis' interview with Leo Biddle. Watch his full interview here: https://bit.ly/4cCZ9hR

#resistance #community #interview An interview by Leo Biddle with artist and writer, Francis O'Neill, who took to the streets in Oxford in April 2020 to run an information stall that became a hub of resistance to the lockdowns. He has since become known as the spokesman for the Yellow Boards outreach group in London. Links: https://francisoneill.substack.com/ https://x.com/FrancisxONeill There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 5 June 2024

David Charalambous shows how beliefs are installed and then defended. He will demonstrates how false beliefs were created during the "pandemic", and how those beliefs formed an unconscious web that then drove behaviour and thinking. David is a behaviour and communication expert and founder of ReachingPeople.net, a project dedicated to helping people communicate with those of differing views and showing people how institutions and corporations manipulate us. He has spent the last four years assisting many groups in understanding how governments and institutions have used behavioural science knowledge to influence people. David believes we can improve our effectiveness by understanding certain principles of behaviour and communication. https://reachingpeople.net There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 15 May 2024

Documentary producer, Richard Jeffs, explains the WEF's Klaus Schwab vision for a new political system. Open Session Snippet from Richard's presentation "Stakeholder Capitalism" Watch his full presentation here: https://bit.ly/3VLjP1i

Richard Jeffs is a former ITV producer and director-of-photography. He is now an independent investigative filmmaker and a tech start-up CEO, with an interest in the future of work. In 2020, Richard produced "The New Normal" documentary, which was the first viral film to investigate the World Economic Forum and The Great Reset. Watch "The New Normal": https://youtu.be/JsI7aybIPnE Over the past sixteen months, Richard has devoted long seven-day weeks to making a powerful new series or feature films, which investigate Stakeholder Capitalism. Enacted in 2020 by the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholders, Stakeholder Capitalism is a new political system currently being mandated by governments, aligning with Klaus Schwab's intent to transition the world to full Stakeholder Capitalism by 2030. Watch Richard’s new feature film, "Stakeholder Communism", at: YouTube: https://youtu.be/A1m4zZvyCxg X: https://x.com/YellowForum/status/1784218590901584280 https://yellow.forum There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 22 May 2024

Award-winning scientist, Edward Calabrese, on his discovery that regulatory agencies such as the US FDA, EPA and others, were using animal models sensitive to developing certain types of cancers to predict cancer risks in humans. Open Session Snippet from Prof Calabrese's presentation "Cancer risk assessment, its wretched history and its impact on public health" Watch his full presentation here: https://bit.ly/3VdrBzB

The linear no-threshold (LNT - https://www.nuclear-power.com/nuclear-engineering/radiation-protection/radiobiology/linear-no-threshold-model/) single-hit dose response model for cancer risk assessment is assessed with respect to its historical foundations. How did mistakes, ideological biases, and scientific misconduct by key scientists affect the acceptance, validity, and applications of the LNT model for cancer risk assessment. In this discussion, Prof Calabrese demonstrates that the LNT single-hit model was inappropriately adopted for governmental risk assessment, regulatory policy, practices, and risk communication. Edward J. Calabrese is a Professor of Toxicology at the University of Massachusetts, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Amherst. Dr. Calabrese has researched extensively in the area of host factors affecting susceptibility to pollutants, and is the author of over 1,000 papers in scholarly journals, as well as more than 10 books. Dr. Calabrese was awarded the 2009 Marie Curie Prize for his body of work on hormesis (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-6869-0_2 ). He was the recipient of the International Society for Cell Communication and Signaling-Springer award for 2010. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from McMaster University in 2013. In 2014 he was awarded the Petr Beckmann Award from Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. Dr. Calabrese was awarded the G. William Morgan Lectureship Award and the Roberts S. Landauer, Sr., Lectureship Award in 2022 from the Health Physics Society. Links: Interview on Hormesis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9xgMPNizTQ There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 28 February 2024

Alex Kriel of Thinking Coalition talks about the role of fake bot traffic on Twitter/X and looks into where fake traffic comes from, who benefits from it and how to spot it. Alex has a degree in theoretical physics and an MBA. He worked for many years in investment management focusing on corporate governance, his last role was with one of the world’s largest asset managers in Amsterdam. Alex was one of the first people to demonstrate that the Imperial Covid model assumptions were overstated and warned about the negative impacts of lockdowns. He formed a working group, Thinking Coalition, to present data and evidence to challenge government overreach and arranged interviews with important scientists and thinkers like Professor Bhakdi, Professor Fenton, Dr. Sidley and others in 2021. He has also contributed to The Daily Sceptic and The Conservative Woman. Thinking Coalition is a pro-liberty, anti-totalitarianism organisation concerned with government overreach. Much of their work springs from the Covid response of early 2020 when they suspected the Coronavirus outbreak had been hijacked to implement an altogether different agenda. Links: https://twitter.com/ThinkingSlow1 https://rumble.com/user/ThinkingSlow https://thinkingcoalition.org There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 10 April 2024

DARPA ran a bot-challenge for US universities in 2014, where a requirement included the methodology be handed over to DARPA on completion. Its mission? Looking for anti-vx activists on Twitter. Open Session Snippet from Alex Kriel's presentation "The Role of Fake Bot Traffic on Twitter/X" Watch his full presentation here: https://bit.ly/4akfLJ6

"The Needle's Secret" is the title of Marc Girardot’s book which unveils a revolutionary perspective on the intersection of modern medicine and modern-day diseases, challenging long-held beliefs with the rigour of the scientific method. At the heart of this compelling narrative lies the Bolus Theory, a groundbreaking hypothesis suggesting that a significant number of contemporary ailments, including some of the most perplexing and widespread health issues of our time, can be traced back to the inadvertent intravenous injection of vaccines and other substances. This theory redefines our understanding of disease causation and casts a new light on the potential risks associated with routine medical practices that have been accepted without question for generations. Marc Girardot has published multiple articles on Covid-19, most notably “Natural Immunity versus Covid-19 Vaccine-induced Immunity” which was published on the BizNews website, and was one of their "most read" articles in 2021. He is also author of the “Covid Myth Buster Series” on Substack and has worked with both Steve Kirsch and Mike Yeadon. Amongst his many other skills and experiences, Marc has an MBA from INSEAD, is a CISCO veteran, a strategy consultant, and has experience working for a company producing anti-cancer DNA vaccines. For further information on Marc see his LinkedIn profile Links: https://covidmythbuster.substack.com/p/the-needles-secret-is-finally-available https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcgirardot There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 17 April 2024

"Depending on which vaccine technology and target, you always get the same kinds of accidents." Open Session Snippet from his presentation "The Needle's Secret" Watch his full presentation here: https://rumble.com/v4tknvr-the-needles-secret-unraveling-vaccine-harms-and-the-bolus-theory-revolution.html

Cognitive scientist Mark Changizi on understanding what happened during Covid in the context of our evolution. Mark Changizi is a theorist aiming to grasp the ultimate foundations underlying why we think, feel and see as we do. His research focuses on "why" questions, and he has made important discoveries such as why we see in colour, why we see illusions, why we have forward-facing eyes, why the brain is structured as it is, why animals have as many limbs and fingers as they do, why the dictionary is organized as it is, why fingers get pruney when wet, where emotional expressions came from, and how we acquired writing, language and music. Research links: Cognitive Scientist https://www.changizi.com VINO OPTICS http://vinOOptics.com Since Covid, Mark’s focus has shifted toward understanding the large-scale dynamics of sociopolitical movements. You can learn more at: The Free Expression Institute (http://freex.group/) LooFWIRED Magazine (https://www.loofwired.com) Mark’s Science Moment series (YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/markchangizi/videos and Rumble https://rumble.com/search/all?q=Mark%20changizi) There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 21 February 2024

"You have to be focused on changing the folks in the public square..." Open Session Snippet from his presentation "Mustache-twiddlers, Emergencies and the Privilege of Speech" Watch his full presentation here: https://rumble.com/v4sh0rr-mustache-twiddlers-emergencies-and-the-privilege-of-speech-mark-changizi.html

Public health agencies and proponents of the Covid vaccination campaign claim that many lives were saved, but data disclosed under a Freedom of Information request suggests otherwise. With a small population of under 2 million people, Northern Ireland provides an important case study to understand the true impact of the vaccination campaign. Kathy Gray's FOI requests suggest jab recipients were not given fully informed consent and that key public health officials and agencies have therefore failed in their duty to inform the public. Recent data suggests a worrying trend: a sustained increase in excess deaths that cannot be attributable to Covid. Kathy Gray lives in Northern Ireland and is a swimming instructor, mother and grandmother, who previously lived in South Africa for 27 years during the apartheid era, where she learnt to question and completely distrust the government. Seeing the harm the COVID lockdowns had on the children she teaches led her to investigate and issue probing Freedom of Information requests to public agencies. Jonathan Weissman lives in Northern Ireland and is a cybersecurity professional, who has researched the risks and harms of the Covid vaccines in his spare time. He shares his articles, conference presentations and podcasts at his website, alltherisks.com. His research interests include the 2020 pivotal clinical trials, contamination, toxicology, and epidemiology. There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation date: 14 February 2024

Dr Gary Sidley shares his findings on the specifics of who, what and how behavioural science (nudge) was used by the UK Government to manipulate the public into compliance with the draconian Covid interventions. This is not only vital as part of an inquiry into the damages of the Covid interventions, but provides a glimpse into the very concerning methods in manipulating an unwitting public. Dr Sidley discusses: 1. Scale of tax-funded behavioural scientists employment in the UK Government. 2. The civil servants, government ministers, advertising agency and behavioural scientists responsible for the ‘Look Them in The Eyes’ ad campaign. 3. The degree of responsibility the psychological/behavioural specialists in UK Government carry for the strategic deployment of fear, shame and scapegoating of UK citizens. 4. The Cabinet Office’s official justifications for the ad campaign. 5. Surprising lack of ethical considerations in the development of the ad campaign. Presented on 14 March 2024

The journey from the inception of early banking to the dynamic world of digital currencies unveils a fascinating pattern of escalating centralization. This exploration by Rahim Taghizadegan navigates through the intricate development of banking systems, unravels the significant role and impact of taxation, sheds light on the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and evaluates Bitcoin's compelling influence. He tackles pressing questions: What propels the momentum of financial centralization? How has the field of economics evolved through the centuries, and what role does it currently play in shaping the contours of financial centralization? Rahim Taghizadegan is the last Austrian economist of the Austrian School in the direct tradition and has been teaching at universities in Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, and South Africa. He has written over a dozen books, some of them best-sellers, and founded the private university Scholarium in Vienna. He is the chief economist of the Free Cities Foundation and an investor. Links: www.scholarium.at https://twitter.com/scholarium_at There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 24 January 2024

This talk summarizes Kevin Ryan’s path from investigation of the 9/11 crimes to noticing parallels between that and the events surrounding the Covid-19 crisis. He shares an overview of existing research on State Crimes Against Democracy (SCADs) and Structural Deep Events, and questions globally-coordinated deep state crimes. Kevin Ryan is a chemistry laboratory manager who was fired from his position at Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in 2004 for publicly questioning the World Trade Center investigation being conducted by UL and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In the summer of 2006, Ryan became co-editor of the Journal of 9/11 Studies, a position he holds to this day. Ryan is the author of Another Nineteen: Investigating Legitimate 9/11 Suspects and has authored or co-authored many articles on the subject. He is also a board member at the International Center for 9/11 Justice. Links: https://ic911.org https://twitter.com/KevinRyan911 There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing way of life. PANDA Open Sessions examine the scientific, political, societal and economic dimensions of these influences. Support more of our work at https://www.pandata.org/donate Presentation: 7 February 2024

15 November 2023 | The vast majority of participants in the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine randomised clinical trial were given a product that was manufactured by ‘Process 1’, a high quality in vitro transcription of synthetic DNA to generate the spike-producing mRNA. Data from this were used by regulators to give approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine. Only a relatively small number were given the ‘Process 2’ vaccine. This was the vaccine manufactured rapidly in huge numbers that was rolled out across the globe. ‘Process 2’ vaccines were generated by growing DNA plasmids in E. coli, which were then translated to the vaccine mRNA. In May 2023 Dr Josh Guetzkow and Professor Retsef Levi (of MIT) wrote a rapid response in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) stating, “Nobody was told that they’re actually getting a product that was different from the one that the clinical trial was run on, and so that means, essentially, that no one could have given informed consent.” https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1731/rr-2 Dr Josh Guetzkow is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Criminology and department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a BA, MA and PhD in Sociology. His PhD, from Princeton University, included advanced training in research methods and statistics. Josh carried out post doctoral research at Harvard University in Health Policy. He has published widely on both qualitative and quantitative methodology. In early 2021 Josh started gathering data and writing reports on ‘Covid vaccine adverse events’. He has used the CDC’s own published methodology on how to detect adverse vaccine events in VAERS.

18 July 2023 | Kevin McKernan is the CSO and Founder of Medicinal Genomics and has pioneered the genomics of cannabis and hemp to build a stronger scientific environment (http://Kannapedia.net) for the study of cannabis based therapeutics and blockchain technologies for tracking and verifying cannabis genetics. Previously, Kevin was the CSO of Courtagen Life Sciences, Inc., and was Vice President, and Director of R&D, of Life Technologies where he managed the development of Life Technologies next generation SOLiD sequencing technology. Integral to the SOLiD R&D process, Kevin oversaw over 100 research collaborations exploring the new biological frontiers with next generation sequencing and saw particular excitement and traction in human tumor sequencing. Kevin initiated an R&D project to investigate chemFET semiconductor based DNA sequencing and spearheaded a process to acquire the DNA sequencing company Ion Torrent for $350M. These collaborations resulted in hundreds of publications and 7 Journal covers from Science Translational Medicine to Nature. Kevin was the President and CSO of Agencourt Personal Genomics, a startup company he co-founded in 2005 to invent revolutionary sequencing technologies that dropped the cost of sequencing a human genome from $300M to $3,000; a 100,000-fold improvement in sequencing speed and cost in a few years. In 2000, Kevin Co-Founded Agencourt Biosciences Corporation and acted as the CSO until it was acquired by Beckman Coulter. Kevin also managed the R&D for the Human Genome Project at Whitehead Institute/MIT resulting in several patents for nucleic acid purification. Kevin holds a B.S. in Biology from Emory University with a focus on cloning and expressing Norepinephrine Transporters. When not decoding DNA and unraveling the mysteries of cannabis medicine, Kevin enjoy boating, skiing, and gardening. PANDA’s Open Science Sessions provide an opportunity for science, research and policy to be presented by various leading international experts in a variety of diverse fields. These sessions aim to broaden understanding and inspire new insights. Support our work: www.pandata.org/donate/

18 October 2022 | Mary Hauser and Jennifer Smith present an overview of the field of virology, covering the basics from virus structure to the mechanisms of viral infections to PCR testing. After receiving her Masters degree from the University of Georgia, Jennifer worked with world-renowned virologist Dr. Robert Webster analysing avian and human influenza viruses. Her team’s work lead to the development of an efficacious H5N3 poultry vaccine, and an H5N1 vaccine to be stockpiled for use in humans. Jennifer undertook a PhD with Dr. Webster. Her work on the ecology and evolution of avian influenza viruses had an impact on policies and practices regarding the sale of poultry in live animal markets in Southeast Asia. Upon completion of her PhD, she joined the NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance at the University of Georgia. In collaboration with the CDC, she assessed methods for improved delivery of vaccines for mass vaccination campaigns. Jennifer was also involved in research using parainflenza virus 5 as a novel vaccine vector for influenza, rabies, and mumps viruses, and has been involved in work testing candidate vaccines against hemorrhagic fever viruses. In 2016, she moved into public health, taking a position as an epidemiological specialist in the Disease Outbreak Control Division at the Hawaii Department of Health. Part of her responsibilities involved serving as the influenza surveillance coordinator. She was also instrumental in the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts by identifying and investigating cases and contact tracing. After obtaining a Bachelor degree in Chemistry, Mary received a PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from Wake Forest University. She subsequently carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Georgia and Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. Her work in Virology and Immunology has involved studies with multiple virus families and contributed to the understanding of host-pathogen interactions including viral and cellular determinants of innate immune pathways, as well as structural changes of replicating viruses. Mary currently works at a biotech company in Georgia and directs evaluation of preclinical immunogenicity and efficacy of multi-antigen virus vectored vaccines. PANDA’s Open Science Sessions provide an opportunity for science, research and policy to be presented by various leading international experts in a variety of diverse fields. These sessions aim to broaden understanding and inspire new insights. Support our work: www.pandata.org/donate/

Nick Hudson's address to the jubilee convention of the Actuarial Society of South Africa on 11 October 2023. See more of PANDA's presentations at https://pandata.org/presentations/ Support our work at https://pandata.org/donate/

This presentation gives an overview of the thinking behind Climate Debate UK. Ben argues that there is a 'gap' between science and policy, which is obscured by green ideology. The following links give further information on the climate debate and why there is no climate crisis, https://climatedebate.co.uk/climate-debate/ and https://climatedebate.co.uk/why-there-is-no-climate-crisis/ Ben is an independent writer and researcher, filmmaker and commentator. He has been writing on the science and politics of climate and the environment for publications such as Spiked-online since the mid-2000s and is a frequent contributor to shows on GB News, Talk TV and others. He is the co-founder of Climate Debate UK, which helps the public, journalists and other organisations find the information necessary for democratic discussion about climate and energy policy. Ben is the Chair of the Together Declaration Cabinet Workgroup on Net Zero. He is the author of Together Declaration & Climate Debate UK report, ‘Is there an ‘air pollution crisis’ in UK cities?’ which demonstrated that neither the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) nor the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) could find evidence of a causal link between air pollution and mortality. Ben and his report have been quoted extensively in the media. His work can be found at the following sites: http://benpile.substack.com; UKclimatedebate.co.uk The Covid event has revealed that it was about more than just public health and the political, economic and societal aspects of the response are of far greater significance than the virus itself. There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing ways of life. Open Society Sessions aim to examine the political, societal and economic dimensions of our recent experience and analyse developments in the future. Support our work: https://www.pandata.org/donate

Since the launch of the Covid-19 global vaccination campaign in December of 2020, vaccination in postsecondary education has been a contested issue, even as it has been embraced enthusiastically in Canadian postsecondary institutions. International evidence indicates that these institutions have achieved high vaccination rates and Canadian public health agencies exclude them entirely from the list of institutions at risk of outbreaks. On the other hand, influential observers, and postsecondary institutions themselves insist that not only achieving, but also maintaining, “up-to-date” vaccination - through mandates if necessary – remains critical to contain the crisis. However, with the increasing recognition that vaccines do not stop viral spread, that young populations are at an exceedingly low risk of severe Covid or death, that Covid injections themselves bear major risks, and that mandated medical interventions have a troubled history with repercussions to this day, the soundness of current vaccination policies in postsecondary institutions should be questioned. Drawing from the medicalization tradition, Claudia and Natalie Hemsing’s study explores, through in-depth interviews, how vaccination policies within and beyond postsecondary institutions have shaped perceptions of the Covid-19 crisis, beliefs about the role, risks, and benefits of vaccination, and life choices and chances of students in Canada. The study finds that students largely comply with vaccination policies, whether by conviction, convenience, or coercion, and that the discourse and social practices promoted by the policies limits opportunities for free debate and exchange across vaccination statuses. The high cost of noncompliance allows little space for resistance, present nonetheless regardless of this status. Claudia and Natalie discuss the implications of their findings for policy, equity, and for the power of medical social control more generally in the Covid-19 era. Claudia Chaufan, M.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Health Policy at York University, past Health Graduate Program Director, and past Fulbright Scholar. She is also an active member of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee of the Canadian Covid Care Alliance. Dr. Chaufan teaches and researches the social and political determinants of health, comparative health policy, the geopolitics of health, and medicalization and social control. She has published widely in academic and lay venues, has held NIH, CIHI, and SSHRC grants, and is editorial board member and reviewer for various refereed journals. Current projects include the politics of sanctions policy, the geopolitics of anti-Asian racism, and medicalization and social control in the Covid-19 era. The Covid event has revealed that it was about more than just public health and the political, economic and societal aspects of the response are of far greater significance than the virus itself. There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing ways of life. Open Society Sessions aim to examine the political, societal and economic dimensions of our recent experience and analyse developments in the future. Support our work: https://www.pandata.org/donate