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The Biollywood Podcast cover art

The Biollywood Podcast

The Biollywood Podcast

Written by: Asha M. George DrPH; John ”J.T” O’Brien MS
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Podcasts evolve. So do viruses and other biological threats. In response, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at Atlantic Council has taken its examination of scenarios involving biological weapons, accidents, and naturally occurring pandemics to the next level and created The Biollywood Podcast. In this podcast, we talk about biological threats and the popular culture media they appear in.

Learn more about the Commission at https://biodefensecommission.org/

Artistic Direction by Nate X. O’Brien

Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. Art
Episodes
  • Pluribus (2026)

    Pluribus (2026)
    Jul 8 2026
    In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2026 Apple TV+ series, Pluribus. Premise:

    Pluribus begins with astronomers at the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico detecting a mysterious signal originating 600 light-years from Earth, repeating every 78 seconds. The signal is initially mistaken for Morse code split four ways, but scientists eventually decode it as the four nucleotides of RNA forming a complete genetic sequence for a novel lysogenic virus. Researchers synthesize the RNA sequence, convert it to DNA using reverse transcriptase, and inject it into laboratory animals at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). When the animal testing appears inconclusive, a scientist is bitten by an infected lab rat, triggering the first human infection.

    The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here. Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates. Email us with recommendations on what to review next: biollywood@biodefensecommission.org
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • The Matrix (1999)

    The Matrix (1999)
    Jun 5 2026
    In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 1999 film, The Matrix, and its implications for the convergence of artificial intelligence and biological science. Premise: In a dystopian future, a war between humanity and sentient machines has ended in humanity’s total defeat. The machines, cut off from solar energy after humans scorched the sky in a desperate last-ditch military operation, turned to the most readily available alternative power source: human beings. Billions of humans are now grown in vast fields of pods, their bodies harvested for bioelectric and thermal energy while their minds are kept pacified inside a neural-interactive simulation called the Matrix—a shared virtual reality modeled on late-20th-century civilization. The film follows Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo, a computer programmer who senses something is wrong with the world. He is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary freed human who believes Neo is “The One”—a prophesied figure destined to end the war with the machines. Neo is unplugged from the Matrix, shown the horrifying truth of human enslavement, and trained to fight the machines’ enforcement programs (Agents) within the simulation. The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here. Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates. Email us with recommendations on what to review next: biollywood@biodefensecommission.org
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Project Hail Mary (2026)

    Project Hail Mary (2026)
    May 29 2026

    In this episode of The Biollywood Podcast, the Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council, Dr. Asha M. George, Associate Director for Research, J.T. O'Brien, and Associate Director for Government Relations and Policy, Robert Bradley, discuss the 2026 film, Project Hail Mary.

    Premise: Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of a mysterious substance called Astrophage that is causing the Sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction—but an unexpected friendship with an alien engineer he names Rocky means he may not have to do it alone.

    Check out our other episode covering the novel: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wytsi-17274e8

    The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at Atlantic Council. Learn more about the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense here.

    Follow us on X (@Biodefensecomm), LinkedIn, and Facebook for more updates.

    Email us with recommendations on what to review next: biollywood@biodefensecommission.org

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 26 mins
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