Director Miles O'Brien Talks New Frontline Documentary 'Coronavirus Pandemic'

Virus Outbreak Washington State — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks at a news conference Monday, April 6, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Inslee announced Monday that schools will remain physically closed for the remainder of the school year due to the coronavirus outbreak, and that public and private school students will continue distance learning through June.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

April 20, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

PBS NewsHour's Miles O'Brien, spoke with Boston Public Radio on Monday about the new Frontline documentary which he directed, "Coronavirus Pandemic."

"I'm convinced that the reason the first case was found here [in Washington state] is that they were prepared and looking for it actively," he said. "They saw it coming, the local political leaders understood what the scientists were telling them, and implemented plans which they had on the shelf to respond."

Washington state was able to implement COVID-19 policies quicker than the rest of the nation, due, in part, to it's political leaders' healthy relationship with the tech and scientific enterprises based in the state, O'Brien said.

"So it stands really in contrast to the other Washington, where politics is injected into a pandemic and that is literally costing lives."

The new Frontline documentary, 'Coronavirus Pandemic,' premieres tomorrow at 9pm on PBS and on PBS.org/frontline.