Science, academia, and public health are now in crisis, exposed during the pandemic as a fundamental lack of critical thinking, an overt blockage of the free exchange of ideas on campus, and a disappearance of our moral and ethical compass, so pervasive that we have rightfully lost trust in most of our institutions and leaders, trust that is essential to the function of any diverse, heterogeneous society. And today, the free exchange of ideas, the essential to finding truth, fundamental to any democracy and truly free society, is under threat. This presentation reviews what was known since the early days of the pandemic, the results of the failed management under two administrations, and the lessons learned to prevent this from happening again.