Neil McRobert

speaker

8,757 appearances 17 recordings 1 series first heard May 2026 last heard 14 Aug

Neil McRobert’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 17 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 7.

Appearances

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Talking Scared · 289 – Annie Jacobsen & Be Afraid… Be Very Afraid · 4 Aug 2026 podcast

Yeah, you compare quite a lot to the Black Death and to medieval pandemics.

And I'm wondering whether you think...

we're worse or better off because there's a balance, isn't there?

Because we have much, much superior medical science, but we also have this far more hyper-connected world.

Whereas back in the 14th century, the 16th century, you had much more primitive medical science, but it was much harder for this stuff to get around.

So do you think we're worse off now or better off?

Yeah.

It might be too trite a question, but I have to ask it.

Which piece of research for which book has scared you more, the nuclear book or this one?

Which has left you feeling more despairing?

Yes, and that gave me more than a little pause for reflection last night.

I was reading this book way too late at night and then trying to go straight to sleep.

And my listeners know, I sometimes use this podcast as a kind of rolling form of self-therapy.

So all my listeners know all of my touch points and my anxious things.

I have a chronic terror of rabies, despite there being no rabies in the UK whatsoever, right?

And it's because...

It's because of that, that exact thing that once you have it, if you don't get treatment, it's too late.

So I now know far too much about pneumonic plague that I wish I didn't know because it's kind of the same.

But why did you pick...

plague and why did you choose russia in your scenario as its origin point because you have to start somewhere so i'm sorry but now i'm going to personally terrify you are you prepared for this okay i'm really not before now i have i have shouted at authors for not don't mention rabies but go go ahead i do i mean do you do you not want me to mention what i'm going to tell you about rabies

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