Guest
Annie Jacobsen
An investigative journalist and author known for reporting on U.S. military, intelligence, and national security programs.
Circuit updated July 26, 2026
Every appearance, the moment worth your time
- Annie Jacobsen says a biological attack could push America from outbreak to anarchy in six days
“in biological war, I take the readers from outbreak to anarchy in 6 days because anarchy and insurrection is the real threat.” 1:04
- Annie Jacobsen says the U.S. has a classified devolution plan to send the president alone to a cold site in a 100 percent fatal plague
“The name devolution is unclassified. The program is classified.” 0:07
Notable quotes
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“The president does not get moved to a big bunker like Raven Rock or Mount Weather. Any of these command centers we can talk about if you want more details. He gets moved to like what's called a cold site. Like really far away. By himself. It's such a crazy visual.”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show -
“a essentially secret government disappears off into a bunch of bunkers called hot sites, warm sites, and cold sites to hunker down so that they can rebuild the government once everybody dies.”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show -
“People will now tell you that like a high school student with limited biology can essentially do some genetic tweaks to create this kind of thing.”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show -
“in biological war, I take the readers from outbreak to anarchy in 6 days because anarchy and insurrection is the real threat.”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show -
“But bioweapons are considered by the defense department the greatest overall threat”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show -
“The name devolution is unclassified. The program is classified.”
Annie Jacobsen · The Shawn Ryan Show
All coverage
The Shawn Ryan Show·Health
Annie Jacobsen says a biological attack could push America from outbreak to anarchy in six days
The author of Nuclear War: A Scenario argues that the real bioweapon nightmare is not just death, but the speed at which fear of infection breaks a country.
The Shawn Ryan Show·Culture
Annie Jacobsen says the U.S. has a classified devolution plan to send the president alone to a cold site in a 100 percent fatal plague
The national security writer says the public name is known, the actual program is classified, and the creepiest detail is not the bunker, it is the president alone in a room with the nuclear football outside.