First, if you have not already done it, to read Andrew Lakoff's "The Generic Biothreat, or How We Became Unprepared"

• You can access it here if you're at UT
• You can access it here if you're at Newcastle

Lets start by thinking about Lakoff's main argument in context. Take a few minutes to watch Bill Gates TED Talk on "The Next Outbreak." Keep in mind as you are watching, this was made in 2015.

• Gates sounds pretty prescient and fairly frightening in the context of our current crisis. But let's read him critically using "The Generic Biothreat." Bracketing the question of whether he is right or wrong (for now) how would you think about this in the context of Lakoff's argument? What seems to resonate with what he is talking about and what doesn't? Scribble some notes down answering these questions, but you don't need to submit them to us.

We'll come back to Mr. Gates later (in the conclusion). For now, lets step back for moment to talk about what we will cover in this unit. Each of these is fairly big and can be a bit confusing, but hopefully they will be clearer by the time we're done.

1. What is a vital system (and what is vital systems security)?
2. What's the difference between prevention and preparedness (and how did it come about)?
3. How/why does this matter to our study of landscape and our study of pandemic?

Video on what a vital system is. How it relates to Andy's framing of different forms of sovereign intervention.

• So what kind of examples might we be able to think of: what's a vital system in the context of the current crisis?
• Can human's be vital systems? Who? And in what circumstances?

What is the difference between prevention and preparedness (and how did it come about)?

Perhaps the paradigmatic example of pandemic scenario planning (discussed in Lakoff's piece) was Dark Winter, an exercise that, despite the fact that it is now almost 20 years old, sets the stage for much scenario planning around pandemic to come. In the words of analysts:

"On 22–23 June 2001, the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Analytic Services Institute for Homeland Security, and the Oklahoma National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, held a senior-level exercise entitled “Dark Winter” that simulated a covert smallpox attack on the United States. The first such exercise of its kind, Dark Winter was constructed to examine the challenges that senior-level policy makers would face if confronted with a bioterrorist attack that initiated outbreaks of highly contagious disease. The exercise was intended to increase awareness of the scope and character of the threat posed by biological weapons among senior national security experts and to bring about actions that would improve prevention and response strategies."--O'Toole et al. "Shining a Light on Dark Winter

Take a few minutes to review the highlights reel for this exercise:

• What pops out at you?
• How does this illustrate the dynamics of scenario planning highlighted in Lakoff's piece?
• What sounds familiar and different to the current crisis?

Digging Deeper: Take a few moments to look at the script for the Dark Winter exercise (link below). You don't have to read the whole thing (it's pretty long) but take a look at the structure of how they set the crisis up and how the people who designed the exercise imagine crisis. What stands out to you? NOTE--There are some images in this document that simulate small pox. They are simulations but may be disturbing to some.

• Link to Dark Winter Script

Write a brief (no more than 200 word) answer and include it as part of your response. This could be an analysis of the script using Lakoff or could just be highlighting things that stood out to you thinking about this exercise in light of our current situation.

Many of the issues defined in the Dark Winter response continue to resonate in the ways that experts are thinking about COVID-19. If you are interested in an example, see the below podcast interview with Laurie Garrett, who is mentioned in Lakoff's article and was a participant in Dark Winter. Garret was, in addition to the author of the bestselling The Coming Plague, a key consultant on the film "Contagion."

• Optional: Laurie Garrett (author of The Coming Plague) interviewed in "On the Media"

Find a resource in the local news (that is, local to wherever you are) that draws out the relationship between prevention and preparedness in the context of addressing COVID-19. Provide a link and a 2-3 sentences explanation of why you think this particular piece draws out something helpful in thinking about preparedness and response. We will compile these and post them as a resource for everyone to use.

Optional Additional Resources:

• An updated (and longer) version of the Bill Gates TED Talk (this one specifically responding to COVID-19.
• The New York Times "The Daily" Podcast: "Why the U.S. Is Running Out of Medical Supplies"