What difference does a metre make? The World Health Organisation recommends that people keep at least 1 metre apart from each other to stop the spread of Covid-19, but different countries have adopted different standards.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying six feet apart - that?s just short of 2 metres; in the UK, the rule is 2 metres.
But all this has a big impact on the way businesses and societies get back to work. Tim Harford investigates the economic costs and conundrums of keeping our distance in a post-lockdown world.
How can we avoid infection spreading again, while getting on with life?
Update on COVID-19; News Items: More Accurate Time of Death, SpaceX and ISS, Police Brutality Breeds Distrust, Journalists and UFOs, Will Your Dog Rescue You; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Talking and Breathing; Science or Fiction
The Breakdown Weekly Recap looks at the key themes that shaped the week. On this week’s episode, NLW discusses:
The modern significance of Tiananmen Square, and why this week’s U.S. protests show why the tools of surveillance need to be applied to states, not citizens.
The importance of “narrative violations,” or fighting to see things without falling into popular but often wrong conventional wisdoms.
The need to resist attempts from both the left and the right to fit today’s unrest into convenient culture-war frameworks that perpetuate each group’s power.
This week on The Breakdown:
Monday | The Power and Peril of the 'Bitcoin Fixes This' Meme
A look at what role, if any, bitcoin has to play in remaking the world that is being protested around the U.S. (and world) this week.
Tuesday | Bitcoin, Cellphones and the Citizen Tools of Anti-Authoritarianism, Feat. Alex Gladstein
A look at the anti-authoritarian technology stack, including where non-state money like bitcoin fits in.
Wednesday | 5 Numbers That Tell the Story of Markets Right Now
From the number of U.S. flights from Chinese carriers to S&P 500 growth in the tumultuous year of 1968, these (unexpected) numbers tell the story of today’s markets.
Thursday | The Mirage of the Money Printer: Why the Fed Is More PR Than Policy, Feat. Jeffrey P. Snider
An argument that the Fed is actually highly ineffectual due to the presence of the eurodollar shadow-banking system.
Friday | The Biggest Realignment in the US-China Relationship Since Nixon, Feat. Graham Webster
A 101-level primer on the history of the U.S.-China relationship, and why today’s bluster represents a fundamental shift.
This podcast series tells the story of the Crusades from the Byzantine angle. It is based on the book "The Byzantine World War" by Nick Holmes. This episode is about the Battle of Manzikert, one of the most decisive battles in history, as well as the original cause of the Crusades.
Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.
Next, Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and former head of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department in the Obama administration discusses America’s overpolicing problem and what’s needed for real change.
In the Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern on the midnight decision in a case brought by churches who objected to state lockdown orders, and why the GOP strategy to block voting by mail has a big swing state problem.
The last few weeks have been filled with devastating news — stories about the police killing black people. So today, we're turning the mic over to our colleagues at NPR's Code Switch. Now, as always, they're doing really important work covering race and identity in the United States. In this episode, they spoke with Jamil Smith, who wrote the essay "What Does Seeing Black Men Die Do For You?" for The New Republic. Thank you for listening.
As federal revenues falter, economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic matters more than ever. The White House appears keenly aware of that fact. Will Yeatman comments on the "deregulate to stimulate" agenda on paper and in practice.
As Chicagoans respond to the death of George Floyd, WBEZ’s Natalie Moore, Monica Eng, Chip Mitchell and Sarah Karp take us through the moments that defined this historic week.
In the interview, New School Professor and MSNBC contributor, Maya Wiley is here. She is also the former chair of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board - an independent oversight agency of the NYPD. She and Mike talk about how civilians and police officers hold the force accountable, how they’ve failed and the level of complaints they take seriously.
