Nels and Vincent explain a new method for calculating the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2, which concludes that the ancestral virus was circulating in October/November 2019, before its first detection in China. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Evolutionary portrait of SARS-CoV-2 (Mol Biol Evolution) Letters read on TWiEVO 68 Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks! Science Picks Nels – Ed Yong pandemic trauma and We’re Not Ready for the Next Pandemic Vincent – Furin cleavage site is not a smoking gun Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv