The weekend’s top news comes under scrutiny from Monocle’s Tyler Brûlé, Marcus Schögel and Chandra Kurt, with commentary from our editors in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Plus: Christoph Amend of ‘ZEITmagazin’.
As online shopping sees its biggest holiday season ever, hackers are sending fake delivery notices impersonating Amazon, UPS and FedEx, with scams up 72% from last year and 440% from October to November. Clicking a fake shipping notification link can launch ransomware or launch a counterfeit branded site to trick users into entering credit card and personal information to “reroute” a package that never existed.
Georgina Godwin with the weekend’s biggest discussion topics.
From Milan: Salone highlights, interviews and a daily running guide.
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss politics as a noble profession, optimism as a defining American characteristic, and collective sacrifice for the common good. In his final regular appearance on the NewsHour, we celebrate Mark Shields and his storied career in journalism and politics.
NPR reports: Another COVID-19 vaccine nears authorization. A major computer hack poses a ‘grave risk’ to the U.S. And, Congress gets closer to a new coronavirus relief package.
Our last episode of the year is a celebration of science in 2020. First, host Sarah Crespi talks with Online News Editor David Grimm about some of the top online news stories of the year—from how undertaker bees detect the dead to the first board game of death. (It’s not as grim as it sounds.)
Sarah then talks with Online News Editor Catherine Matacic about the Breakthrough of the Year, scientific breakdowns, and some of the runners-up—amazing accomplishments in science achieved in the face of a global pandemic. Finally, Book Review Editor Valerie Thompson joins Sarah to discuss highlights from the books section—on topics as varied as eating wild foods to how the materials we make end up shaping us.
Anne McElvoy asks the former German ambassador to the US, Wolfgang Ischinger, if America can still be relied upon as a “protective uncle” and how it should deal with China.
And, who will succeed Chancellor Merkel in 2021? Anne talks to German cabinet minister Jens Spahn, one of a proposed ‘dream team’ of candidates in the upcoming party leadership contest.
Lawmakers near relief deal with second round of stimulus checks, do Americans trust the vaccine, and drinking red wine and eating cheese could reduce cognitive decline.
A video game provides players with insights into pandemic responses, giant pandas and our annual festive fun.
In this episode:
01:02 Balancing responses in a video game pandemic
In the strategy video-game Plague Inc: The Cure, players assume the role of an omnipotent global health agency trying to tackle outbreaks of increasingly nasty pathogens. We find out how the game was developed, and how it might help change public perception of pandemic responses.
Plague Inc: The Cure from Ndemic Creations
10:02 “We three Spacecraft travel to Mars”
The first of our festive songs, we head back to July this year, and the launch of three separate space missions to the red planet. Scroll to the transcript section at the bottom of the page for the lyrics.
12:54 Research Highlights
Giant pandas roll in piles of poo to keep warm, and how different bread-baking styles have led to distinct lineages of baker’s yeast.
Research Highlight: Why pandas like to roll in piles of poo
Research Highlight: Sourdough starters give rise to a new line of yeast
15:17 The Nature Podcast Audio Charades Competition: Lockdown edition
In this year’s festive competition, our reporters try to describe some of the biggest science stories, using only homemade sound effects. Results are mixed, at best…
24:15 Nature’s 10
We hear about some of the people who made it on to this year’s Nature’s 10 list this year.
Nature’s 10: ten people who helped shape science in 2020
32:20 All I want for Christmas is vaccines
In our final festive song, we celebrate a huge scientific achievement, and one that’s offering a little hope for 2021. Scroll to the transcript section at the bottom of the page for the lyrics.
Boomers Daily 