13
December 2021
Past Event
Virtual Event | Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19

Virtual Event | Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19

Past Event
Online Only
December 13, 2021
Laboratory technicians wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) working on samples to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus. (Getty Images)
Caption
Laboratory technicians wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) working on samples to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus. (Getty Images)
13
December 2021
Past Event
Speakers:
Alina Chan

Postdoctoral researcher, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University

Matt Ridley

Biologist, author, and member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom

david-asher
David Asher

Senior Fellow

john_walters
John P. Walters

President and CEO

Please be advised: This event will premiere on this page at 12:00 p.m. EST, Monday, December 13. Register for the event here

“Viral,” a new book by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley, is the most sophisticated and detailed analysis of the origin of COVID-19 published to date: a master class on how emerging outbreaks—both natural and lab-based—have been tracked, and the history of novel coronavirus research in different countries leading up to the pandemic. Chan and Ridley carefully follow the science and collate the evidence to lay out what we know and what remains to be known about the emergence of this devastating disease.

Join Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters for a conversation with Alina Chan and Matt Ridley, and Hudson Senior Fellow David Asher, who led the State Department investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in 2020.

Related Events
08
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Authoritarians in the Academy: How Adversaries Infiltrate Higher Education to Threaten Free Speech and National Security
Featured Speakers:
Sarah McLaughlin
Michael Sobolik
Getty Images
08
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Authoritarians in the Academy: How Adversaries Infiltrate Higher Education to Threaten Free Speech and National Security

Join Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik for a conversation with Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, about her recent book on this subject, Authoritarians in the Academy.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Sarah McLaughlin
Michael Sobolik
08
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The View from Riga with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže
Featured Speakers:
Baiba Braže
Peter Rough
Getty Images
08
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The View from Riga with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže

To discuss the future of Latvian foreign policy, Peter Rough will welcome Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže back to Hudson for a fireside chat.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Baiba Braže
Peter Rough
09
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
America’s Competitive Edge: Antitrust, Standards, and Intellectual Property for US Tech Leadership
Featured Speakers:
Dina Kallay
Urška Petrovčič
Getty Images
09
December 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
America’s Competitive Edge: Antitrust, Standards, and Intellectual Property for US Tech Leadership

Hudson will host an exclusive luncheon conversation with Dina Kallay, deputy assistant attorney general for international, policy and appellate at the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Dina Kallay
Urška Petrovčič
10
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
How Strategic Use of Foreign Assistance Advances American Interests
Featured Speakers:
Jeremy Lewin
Matthew Boyse
DVIDS
10
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
How Strategic Use of Foreign Assistance Advances American Interests

Moderated by Senior Fellow Matthew Boyse, a 35-year foreign service officer, this conversation will explore the evolving landscape of American diplomacy and development. 

DVIDS
Featured Speakers:
Jeremy Lewin
Matthew Boyse