Monocle’s editor in chief, Tyler Brûlé, discusses the weekend’s top stories with his guests. Topics include how the coronavirus outbreak is being felt in Switzerland, the UK and Japan. 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 the week’s political news, including former Vice President Joe Biden’s response to an allegation of sexual assault, which U.S. officials Americans trust during the pandemic, a new proposal for more coronavirus relief and an insider trading investigation of prominent senators.
With questionable coronavirus content flooding airwaves and online channels, what’s being done to limit its impact?In this episode:
00:57 The epidemiology of misinformation
As the pandemic spreads, so does a tidal wave of misinformation and conspiracy theories. We discuss how researchers’ are tracking the spread of questionable content, and ways to limit its impact.
News: Anti-vaccine movement could undermine efforts to end coronavirus pandemic, researchers warn
Nature Video: Infodemic: Coronavirus and the fake news pandemic
17:55 One good thing
Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including walks in new places, an update on the Isolation Choir, and a very long music playlist.
Video: The Isolation Choir sing What a Wonderful World
Spotify: Beastie Boys Book Complete Songs
22:30 Funding fears for researchers
Scientists around the world are concerned about the impacts that the pandemic will have on their funding and research projects. We hear from two who face uncertainty, and get an update on the plans put in place by funding organisations to support their researchers.
Contributing Correspondent Lizzie Wade talks with host Sarah Crespi about the role of inequality in past pandemics. Evidence from medical records and cemeteries suggests diseases like the 1918 flu, smallpox, and even the Black Death weren’t indiscriminately killing people—instead these infections caused more deaths in those with less money or status.
Also this week, Aaron Wech, a research geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, joins Sarah to talk about recordings of more than 1 million earthquakes from deep under Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, which hasn’t erupted in 4500 years. They discuss how these earthquakes, which have repeated every 7 to 12 minutes for at least 20 years, went undetected for so long.
A film by Phil Arntz, Harry and James Miller
Shot around London in May 2020 during the Covid-19 Lockdown.
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including how the spread of COVID-19 inside the White House complicates the administration’s pandemic messaging, whether Americans will feel safe returning to work and what voting looks like during the pandemic.
Understanding how the body clears the new coronavirus is becoming more important as the U.S. begins to reopen. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains how the body fights infection and why feeling better doesn’t equal being virus-free.
Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann
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