Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

It’s news to nobody that our planet has been ravaged by a pandemic since early 2020, and that more and more people in the developed world are being vaccinated to stop the effects of the Covid-19 corona virus. But where this vaccine came from, how it was developed, and who made it happen is less well known.

Inside the Great Vaccine Race is the name of a new documentary that looks at the corona virus itself, how the vaccines were developed, how they work… and why. It follows scientists in China, Brazil, Thailand, Canada, Germany and the UK at a time when many of these countries were already locked down. It’s produced and written by Dugald Maudsley, the multi-award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker, known for TV series like Myth or Science and Ancestors in the Attic, as well as documentary features like Jumbo: The Life of an Elephant Superstar.

Inside the Great Vaccine Race is the opening episode of The Nature of Things celebrating its 61st season, and is now streaming on CBC Gem.

I spoke to Dugald in Toronto via Zoom.