Adam Gopnik, recently recovered from his first bout of Covid, explores the profound impact of the pandemic on our whole belief system.

'Covid acted as a kind of universal solvent,' Adam writes, 'dissolving pretty much everyone's expectations of what could happen in the world'.

He looks in particular at the concept of ‘trusting the science’ and argues that ‘science is not a transaction of faith but of accumulated confidence’.

Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith