As the world continues to reckon with the coronavirus and its variants, these speakers help audiences better understand the virus and the physical and social effects of a global pandemic. From both medical and journalistic perspectives, these speakers have continuously reported on the coronavirus, the vaccines, and provide realistic expectations of the future.

Ed Yong

Pulitzer Prize winning science staff writer for The Atlantic

Named “the most important and impactful journalist” of 2020 by Poynter, The Atlantic science reporter Ed Yong was awarded journalism’s top honor, the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, for his crucial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. He anticipated the course of the virus, the complex challenges that U.S. faced, and the government’s disastrous failure in its response. An accomplished speaker, Yong discusses the pandemic’s impacts, resets expectations for the end of COVID-19, and maps out a path forward for everyone.

Dr. Matt McCarthy

Bestselling author of Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic and Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Matt McCarthy is an infectious disease doctor and an expert in superbugs who has been on the front lines of the hospital response to COVID-19. In his fascinating and informative talks, Dr. McCarthy provides the most up-to-date information on new coronavirus variants, the booster shots, testing, and what the future will look like for all. Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has made numerous media appearances and attended congressional briefings with lawmakers to discuss COVID-19 and share with audiences what we as a society can learn from global outbreaks.

Dr. Michele Harper

Emergency room physician and author of the New York Times-bestselling The Beauty in Breaking

Dr. Michele Harper has worked as an emergency room physician for more than a decade at various institutions, including as chief resident at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx and in the emergency department at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia. During the months when the coronavirus kept millions confined to their home, she was at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic. Dr. Harper sheds light on how the coronavirus has affected healthcare workers and provides a crash course on the state of American healthcare. She also speaks on how questionable policies and systemic racism in healthcare—especially during this pandemic—have allowed the most vulnerable members of society to fall through the cracks.

Carl Zimmer

New York Times columnist and award-winning science journalist

In his 2011 book, A Planet of Viruses, Carl Zimmer warned that a virus that lived in a bat or some other animals would adapt to humans and sweep across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic is the result of precisely the spillover that Zimmer predicted. At the New York Times, Zimmer reports regularly on the science behind the coronavirus and any updated information about the vaccines, including the booster shots. An award-winning science journalist, his insightful talks build on his expert reporting of the ever-changing virus, as well as what we can learn for future responses to viral outbreaks.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

Physician, scientist, and activist who exposed the Flint water crisis

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is the crusading pediatrician who first researched and revealed the lead in the blood of Flint, Michigan’s children. Named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and USA Today’s “Women of the Century,” Dr. Mona speaks on the important lessons learned from the Flint water crisis and are applicable to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global outbreaks: good governance, faith in science, prevention, and understanding disparities.

Highlights

Speakers on COVID-19