I am joined by Emily Barley from www.coviddashboard.live to examine some of the weaknesses in the covid data and establish whether we can rely on the stats. We'll be discussing: - The problems with how covid admissions and deaths are reported - How a lack of context of ICU capacity this year vs previous years is skewing the debate - How technical definitions can mislead the public and policy makers - How to make sense of why overall hospital capacity has been hammered given the conflicting reports - Why it is so difficult to determinate how many cases of covid are 'hospital acquired' Please check out www.coviddashboard.live to see some of the data discussed within this episode. Remember to subscribe to the Pandemic Podcast to keep up to date with the latest news www.danjgregory.com/pandemic ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CjdvZTFecM

Did you know that the first lockdown was set in motion the day after the largest teaching union threatened unilateral school closures? Or that, in the summer of 2020, a transport workers union threatened to strike unless the government mandated masks on trains? Or that the third lockdown happened the day after there was a colossal teaching mutiny with hundreds of thousands of teachers refusing to return to work in January 2021? Or that the reason why children have been masked in schools was because the teaching unions demanded it as a condition of re-opening? These are only just a handful of the known incidents of unions making demands or threats to the UK government which resulted in further restrictions or mandates. As we reflect back on the past 2 years, and the various factors that have influenced the course of the pandemic response within our “Calling out the game” series, in this episode we turn our attention to role of major trade unions such as the National Education Union (NEU), The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), GMB, British Medical Association (BMA, Trades Union Congress (TUC) and others, in driving fear based policy responses from lockdowns, school closures and mandatory masks. To help us evaluate the role of the unions in driving the pandemic response, we are joined by author, philosopher and social commentator Ben Irvine. Ben has been investigating the role of the trade unions in driving the pandemic response in the UK and has written extensively about these issues. Through his detailed investigative work, he shows the sequence of events, letters and even meetings held, which pressured the UK Government to change the course of the response to the pandemic in the UK. You can read Ben’s analysis in full here: http://whistleblowerphilosopher.blogspot.com/ Tune in LIVE at 20.00 UK time for a revealing conversation about the critical events that led to all three lockdowns and how unions continue to impact the course of the pandemic response. PS Please subscribe to our mailing list to be one of the first to learn about our new content and community at http://www.danjgregory.com/pandemic