The Topic of My Next Video is... | Friday Update

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday Update, in which I reveal the topic of my next video!

Also, as a note for those who might've missed it, I’m currently taking submissions for my next Patreon Q&A. Drop any questions you’d like me to answer either in the comments to that post or this one and I’ll add them to my list!

What have I been up to this week?

So, as promised, I’m going to use this week’s edition of the Friday Update to reveal the topic of my next video, which… *drumroll* is… *drumroll intensifies* COVID vaccines. In short, I’m interested in the global distribution of vaccines, where they’ve been distributed to so far, where they haven’t been distributed to and the various factors that have led to that situation.

My main focus is on vaccine patents, the refusal of pharmaceutical companies to share those patents and the geopolitical factors that have led the world’s governments, despite initially hinting otherwise, to let this situation continue. I’m currently giving the video the working title of How Big Pharma is Extending the Pandemic. But, as ever, that is subject to change as the video begins to take a much clearer shape.

I’ve been working on researching the video non-stop since just before Christmas and it’s safe to say it’s a massive topic to be covering. There’s many fascinating (in a politics-y kinda way) stories of schemes which were meant to ensure that countries in the Global South could have access to vaccines which have then been torpedoed either by vaccine nationalism on the part of wealthier nations or profit-seeking on the part of pharmaceutical companies.

In fact, earlier today, I began debating dividing the video into a trilogy of three slightly shorter videos to allow me to focus on different aspects of the topic (I was thinking I could then release them fortnightly over a month and a half). I think that’s probably unlikely but it’s something I’m going to keep my mind open to in case trying to cover it all in one video becomes too unwieldly.

While there’s been some slightly more mundane aspects of researching this video (such as trying to get my head around the various committees and councils of the World Trade Organization in order to understand international patent agreements), I’ve been finding it really, really interesting. Or maybe infuriating is the right word?

Anyway, let me know what you think and I’ll keep you updated through these posts as the script begins to come together!

And outside of work?

It was my partner’s birthday last week, so I spent the weekend mostly hanging out with friends. I even went out clubbing for the first time since the pandemic began which was strange (and, to be honest, didn’t feel particularly COVID safe…). I feel like there’s usually more to report in this section but, other than that, I’ve mostly been playing a tower defence game on my iPad… exhilarating stuff!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

This week, I finally got round to watching the new film adaptation of Dune. I’ve neither read any of the books nor have I seen the previous adaptation so I had very little idea what to expect. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. It was great to see something on such an epic scale that isn’t part of one of the superhero franchises. I’m very glad their making a sequel as it set up the plot well enough that I’m really looking forward to finding out what comes next.

And, speaking of superhero franchises, I also managed to see Spider-Man: No Way Home this week. I’ve never been particularly glued to the MCU but have really enjoyed the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man films; in contrast to DC’s attempt to make all their superhero films “dark” and “authentic”, they’re just really good fun. And, as someone who grew up with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, there was lovely nostalgia in there too!

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of the Friday Update. Let me know what you think of the topic for the next video!

Thanks as ever for your generous support!