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Inside the Plague Research Labs at the Heart of a Russian Mystery

The researcher worked at a remote anti-plague facility, one of several secretive labs across former Soviet states that few foreigners have ever been allowed to visit.

On air: Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield on Late Night BBN
Published 10:20 PM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

Photo: Pavel Kazachkov · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

▶ As it aired · World

Watch it as it aired: Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from Late Night BBN at 10:20 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The New York Times's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Russia — Photo: Pavel Kazachkov · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by The New York Times: “Inside the Plague Research Labs at the Heart of a Russian Mystery”.
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 10:20 PM ET on Late Night BBN, by Gloria Vance and Kenji Moonfield.
Topics: Russian.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The New York TimesInside the Plague Research Labs at the Heart of a Russian Mystery

What BBN said about it

Gloria Vance · World News AnchorIn Russia, a researcher who worked at a remote anti-plague facility has died from an unknown illness, and The New York Times has looked inside the secretive labs that dot the former Soviet states.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorFew foreigners have ever visited these sites, and the cause of the researcher's death has not been explained.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo nobody knows what happened, and nobody is allowed in to ask.

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