Science In Action - The medical complexity of Covid -19

Autopsies show Covid 19 can affect the brain and other organs. Pathologist Mary Fowkes from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found the signs of stroke - unusually in young people, as well as a disruption of the immune system throughout the body.

And studies of heart stem cells show these can be killed by the virus. Cell Biologist Stefanie Dimmeler from the University of Frankfurt says this finding could prove useful in providing treatment and preventative medicine.

A massive research project in China has identified over 700 different types of coronavirus carried by bats, some of these obscure virus sequences are thought to have already jumped from bats to human and animals such as pigs. In a similar way to SARS-CoV-2 they present a potential threat as a source of future pandemics says Peter Daszak from the EcoHeath Alliance which conducted the research in collaboration with Chinese scientists.

And is there racism in the way people with Covid -19 infections are categorised? It’s an issue which concerns toxicologist Winston Morgan from the University of East London. He says as race is a social construct it’s an inappropriate measure to use when trying to work out who is vulnerable to the virus.

(Image: Illustration showing the virus structure of SARS-CoV-2. Credit: CDC HO via AFP / Getty)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

Song Exploder - Michael Kiwanuka – Black Man in a White World

Instead of a new episode this week, revisiting this episode originally published in May 2017. Please consider donating to local and national organizations engaged in the work of racial equality. Here are some links:

Michael Kiwanuka is a singer/songwriter from London. His second album, Love and Hate, came out in 2016, and was named one of the Best Albums of the Year from the BBC, NME, The Guardian, GQ, and more. One of the songs on the album was used as the theme for the hit HBO series Big Little Lies. In this episode, Michael breaks down the song "Black Man in a White World."

songexploder.net/michael-kiwanuka

CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: The Mirage of the Money Printer… Why the Fed Is More PR Than Policy, Feat. Jeffrey P. Snider

The meme is “money printer go brrr,” but according to this macro expert, central banks have almost no power to actually influence money itself.

This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Ciphertrace.

The conventional wisdom is that central banks are the most important economic actors in the world. Markets hang on their every word. 

Yet, what if that power has less to do with actual monetary policy and more to do with how the performance of that policy creates a self-fulfilling prophecy as market actors respond to media coverage?

Jeff Snider is the head of global research at Alhambra Investments. In this conversation, he and NLW explore:

  • How the Fed lost the ability to even determine what the money supply is.
  • How the financialization in the 1980s exacerbated monetary confusion.
  • Why the most important force in the global economy isn’t central banks but the eurodollar and shadow banking system.
  • How the eurodollar and shadow banking sector creates a drag on real economic growth.
  • Why the conventional wisdom and “central bank savior” narrative around 2008 was dead wrong.
  • The problem with “survivor’s euphoria.”
  • Why “money printer go brr” is actually a flood myth.

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - DISCUSSION: Decentralization and What Section 230 Really Means for Freedom of Speech

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday, seeking to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 prevents social media companies from civil liability for the content posted on them. The order targets Twitter and Facebook after Twitter fact-checked two of the President’s tweets. 

Today, CoinDesk tackles the topic with Chief Content Officer Michael Casey, Privacy Reporter Benjamin Powers, New York Law School professor and past President of the American Civil Liberties Union Nadine Strossen, and author of the Open Index Protocol Amy James

This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Ciphertrace.

On this podcast, the CoinDesk team brings listeners up to speed on the leadup to and aftermath of the executive order, discuss the fairness implications of editorializing on social media, the business models that enable and are empowered by all of this, and how decentralized protocols can chart an alternative path forward.

First we talk about the first amendment and Section 230 itself, what it does and doesn’t do as it pertains to social media platforms and moderation. 

Then we talk about fairness and the if you don’t-like-it-leave argument, as well as related topics

We’ll talk about the business models and assumptions implicit in the current state of dominant social media platforms before turning to alternatives or possible solutions in decentralized protocols and multi-layered approaches to moderation or censorship.

Links from the episode:

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CBS News Roundup - World News Roundup: 06/04

Protesters cheer the charges against all four Minneapolis officers. President Trump stresses the need for force. Criticism from former Trump Defense Secretary. CBS News Correspondent Steve Kathan has today's World News Roundup.

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The Intelligence from The Economist - This, too, shall impasse: Brexit talks resume

The pandemic has made negotiations more difficult and changed the political calculus on both sides. Prospects for a deal before year’s end are dimming. After more than two decades on the lam, an alleged architect of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide is headed to court. And how archaeologists use “soundscapes” and replica instruments to examine past civilisations. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer