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Former judge Heather Hallett chairs an inquiry criticizing the UK government for letting down the British people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report stresses the importance of better preparedness for future pandemics and raises concerns about a specific virus causing anxiety.

The scars of the covid pandemic are still raw, but now a virus spreading among farm animals could leap to humans. Could bird flu become the next pandemic? White women are sometimes absolved of blame in the crime of slavery in America (9:50). Research suggests they may have been culpable too. And meet the creator of Dateline, the Economist’s history quiz (17:25).

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