The federal government is spending big to combat the economic damage of the coronavirus crisis, and federal debt has climbed to record levels. WSJ’s Jon Hilsenrath explains the debate over the impact of all that debt.
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.
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the dangerous gap between Wall Street and Main Street in America, (10:22) high-speed science—new research on the coronavirus is being released in a torrent. (21:00) And, casual sex is out, companionship is in.
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the Department of Justice’s request to throw out the case against Michael Flynn, the politicization of American government institutions and how President Trump’s reelection ambition is driving his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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. See all of our News coverage of the pandemic here, and all of our Research and Editorials here. And Karen Holl, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, joins Sarah to discuss the proper planning of tree-planting campaigns. It turns out that just putting a tree in the ground is not enough to stop climate change and reforest the planet.
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 episode:
00:46 Probing pions
Pions are incredibly unstable and difficult-to-study subatomic particles. Now researchers have come up with a clever way to examine them – by sticking them into helium atoms. Research Article: Hori et al.
08:28 Research Highlights
A colourful way to cool buildings, and the rapid expansion of cities. Research Highlight: A rainbow of layered paints could help buildings to keep their cool; Research Highlight: Urban sprawl overspreads Earth at an unprecedented speed
10:46 The life of Galileo
A new biography of Galileo Galilei examines some of the myths about his life and draws parallels with problems facing scientists today. Books and Arts: Galileo’s story is always relevant
16:42 Pick of the Briefing
We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including botanical graffiti, and rock-eating bacteria. The Guardian: ‘Not just weeds’: how rebel botanists are using graffiti to name forgotten flora; Scientific American: Scientists Waited Two and a Half Years to See whether Bacteria Can Eat Rock
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including President Trump’s prediction of an economic resurgence after the pandemic, the difference in campaign strategies between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden and how public perceptions of the COVID-19 threat vary according to political identity.
Intellicurious 