The number of Covid-19 infections in the U.S. surpasses 5 million. Tens of millions of Americans could be evicted with the eviction ban lapsing. Plus, Hong Kong Publisher Jimmy Lai is arrested under China’s new national security law.
Audio
Global News Podcast: Absent Students, Beirut In Ruins & China’s Popular TV
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: the absent student, (9:55) Beirut: a city in ruins, (19:45) and why TV from China’s Hunan province has become so popular.
World News Podcast: Protests In Beirut, Tik Tok Sues, Slow Immigration
NPR News Now reports: Protests erupt in Beirut in aftermath of massive explosion, Tik Tok sues U.S., and other world news.
Morning News Now: New Stimulus Bill Falters, Covid-19 Vaccine Update
NPR News Now reports: Congress fails to agree on a new stimulus bill, President Trump considers action, and other top news.
Podcast Interviews: 57-Year Old German Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the world’s pre-eminent classical soloists. For 40 years the German performer has collaborated with distinguished composers and musicians, winning numerous awards. She talks to Monocle’s Robert Bound about Beethoven, her Stradivarius and sending biscuits to John Williams.Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan, and has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaidulina, Witold Lutosławski, Norbert Moret, Krzysztof Penderecki, André Previn, Wolfgang Rihm, John Williams and others.
Top New Science Podcasts: Pluto’s Dark Side Yields Dwarf Planet’s Secrets
In 2015, after a nine-and-a-half-year journey, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft raced past Pluto, beaming images of the dwarf planet back to Earth.
Five years after the mission, researchers are poring over images of Pluto’s far-side, which was shrouded in shadow during New Horizon’s flypast. They hope that these images will help give a better understanding of how Pluto was born and even whether a hidden ocean resides beneath the world’s icy crust.
This is an audio version of our feature: Pluto’s dark side spills its secrets — including hints of a hidden ocean
Morning News Podcast: Cities Post-Covid, School Risks & 2020 Election
It’s too soon to know what downtown cities will look like after the coronavirus pandemic. What we do know is that no business will be spared. Both small mom and pops and big retailers will have to shut their doors and move away from dense city centers. That could mean landowners, consumers and retailers will have to work together to imagine the new iteration of the American city.
- Plus, the more we learn about kids and the coronavirus, the riskier it seems to resume in-person schools.
- And, the 2020 presidential election won’t like anything we’ve ever seen.
Guests: Axios’ Dion Rabouin, Caitlin Owens, and Sara Goo.
Top New Science Podcasts: Pregnancy Risks Of Covid-19, Razor Blades & Hair
Staff Writer Meredith Wadman joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the risk of the novel coronavirus infection to pregnant women. Early data suggest expectant women are more likely to get severe forms of the infection and require hospitalization. Meredith describes how the biology of pregnancy—such as changes to the maternal immune system and added stress on the heart and lungs—might explain the harsher effects of the virus.
Also this week, Sarah talks with Gianluca Roscioli about his experiments with commercial razor blades and real human hair. By using a scanning electron microscope, he was able to show how something relatively soft like hair is able to damage something 50 times harder like stainless steel.
Morning News Podcasts: Beirut Explosion Death Toll, 2020 U.S. Election
NPR New Now: The Beirut explosion killed at least 135 people, the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, and other top news.
World News Podcast: Massive Blast In Beirut, Covid-19 Relief Issues
NPR Up First reports: The death toll is rising from yesterday’s explosions in Beirut. A longtime incumbent loses in Missouri’s Democratic Primary. And, some U.S COVID-19 relief checks were sent to non-American workers overseas.
Boomers Daily 