The weekend’s defining discussion topics with Tyler Brûlé, Christof Münger, Eemeli Isoaho, Mark Dittli and our Tokyo bureau chief Fiona Wilson. Plus, Monocle’s style director Marcela Palek’s Christmas gift tips.
From Milan: Salone highlights, interviews and a daily running guide.
Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart, and Gary Abernathy, an Ohio-based writer and contributing columnist to The Washington Post, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss this week’s politics, including President Trump’s undermining of the election process and President-elect Joe Biden’s picks for top cabinet posts.
Biden is expected to announce more members of his cabinet. His administration will place a focus on civil rights. And, stores are changing things up to keep shoppers safe on Black Friday.
Many schools closed in the spring, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Many opened in the fall. Staff Writer Jennifer Couzin-Frankel joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about what was learned in spring about how coronavirus spreads in schools that might help keep children safe as cases surge once again.
Also this week: What makes leaves fall off deciduous trees when they do—is it the short, cold nights? Or is the timing of so-called “leaf senescence” linked to when spring happens? Sarah talked to Constantin Zohner, a lead scientist at the Institute of Integrative Biology at ETH Zurich, about his tree leaf timing study. Sarah also spoke with commentary author Christy Rollinson, a forest ecologist at the Morton Arboretum, about how important these trees and the timing of their leaf drop is for climate change. In the books segment, host Kiki Sanford talks with Ruth DeFries about her book, What Would Nature Do? A Guide for Our Uncertain Times.
Thanksgiving – Why 2020 now represents a turning point, toward parts unknown, the seasonal hazard of working from home, and tips for a cozier Zoom Thanksgiving.
Scientists have finally confirmed the existence of a CNO cycle fusion reaction in the Sun, and why women’s contraception research needs a reboot.
In this episode:
00:47 Detection of CNO neutrinos
Since the 1930s it has been theorised that stars have a specific fusion reaction known as the CNO cycle, but proof has been elusive. Now, a collaboration in Italy report detection of neutrinos that show that the CNO cycle exists.
We discuss the search for the animal origin of SARS-CoV-2, with researchers raiding their freezer draws to see if any animals carry similar viruses, and the latest vaccine results.
21:50 Getting women’s contraception research unstuck
Since the 1960s there has been little progress on research into women’s contraceptives. This week in Nature, researchers argue that this needs to change.
Presidential transition process to begin after weeks of delay, Biden picks Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, and holiday shopping is different this year.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious