Airlines were soaring towards record travel numbers at the start of this year. Then, COVID-19 hit like a lightning bolt.
The average number of passengers on a domestic flight is now about 17. That’s about a single passenger per row. And American taxpayers gave U.S. airlines a $50 billion bailout to help pull the industry out of a financial nose-dive. Will that be enough?
And what will the future of air travel look like in a post-pandemic world?
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the 
British author, playwright and translator Michael Frayn is best known for his farcical comedy ‘Noises Off’ and ‘Copenhagen’, which details a 1941 meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. 
A conversation with the acclaimed poet and New Yorker writer Cynthia Zarin that transports us to two of her favorite cities, Venice and Rome, in a celebration of Italy as the country begins to loosen the longest coronavirus-related lockdown in Europe. The episode features evocative readings from her forthcoming book,Two Cities, which captures the meditative yet constantly surprising nature of travel from a deeply personal point of view. 
Monocle 24 checks in on Switzerland’s plans to further ease coronavirus restrictions and ask whether the country is setting an example that others should follow.
Rick Steves is a travel evangelist, always in motion, traversing faraway places and inspiring others to do the same. So when the world shuts down, and Rick Steves can no longer travel, then who is Rick Steves?
Staff Writer Jon Cohen joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about using monoclonal antibodies to treat or prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2. Many companies and researchers are rushing to design and test this type of treatment, which proved effective in combating Ebola last year. 
This week, a new way to study elusive subatomic particles – pions, and the story of Galileo remains relevant in a time of modern science denialism.
In this two-part series, six US museum directors discuss the pandemic and its repercussions for their institutions. These candid, insightful conversations address wide-ranging topics, from the logistical challenges of when to close and how to reopen to philosophical exchanges about the role of museums in society.
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