Bonus Episode: “A Medically Induced Economic Coma”

Is the coronavirus a zero-sum game in which we must choose between saving lives and saving the economy? In this episode, we sit down with two experts to find out.

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Host
  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
Credits

Asher Ross - Supervising Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

Rafaela Siewert - Associate Podcast Producer

Episode Guests
  • Thomas J. Bollyky
    Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development and Director of the Global Health Program
  • Sebastian Mallaby
    Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics

Show Notes

The Coronavirus pandemic changed our lives in a heartbeat. It has made us fear for our health, our loved ones, and our livelihoods. As the death toll rises, the return to normalcy seems to recede further and further away. Businesses have been asked to close for the foreseeable future, and millions are out of work. In this episode, we ask two experts to explain how fighting the virus can intersect with trying to save the U.S. economy.

 

From CFR 

 

Coronavirus: How Are Countries Responding to the Economic Crisis?” Jonathan Masters

 

After the Pandemic: Can the United States Finally Retool for the Twenty-First Century?”  Edward Alden

 

Read More

 

The U.S. Shut Down Its Economy. Here’s What Needs to Happen in Order to Restart.New York Times 

 

Top economists are deriding the ‘false choice’ between saving lives from coronavirus and maximizing economic growth. Here’s why the situation isn’t so cut-and-dry.Business Insider 

 

Congress Is Knitting a Coronavirus Safety Net. It Already Has Big Holes.New York Times 

 

Watch or Listen

 

The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should DoKurzgesagt

 

Covid-19: how bad will it be for the economy?Economist

Supply Chains

Feeding the world's eight billion people has never been easy. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the market for fertilizer, that task has gotten even harder. The fertilizer crisis threatens to exacerbate food insecurity worldwide, especially in low-income countries already reeling from record-high inflation and rapidly depreciating currencies. What is fertilizer’s role in the food supply chain?

Nuclear Weapons

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of nuclear war felt like a problem of days past. Now, as great-power competition heats up, the potential for nuclear conflict seems higher than at any point in decades. How did the nuclear taboo fade, and what does nuclear proliferation mean for the United States?

National Security and Defense Program

All current U.S. military personnel have one thing in common: they volunteered. But falling recruitment has raised questions of national security, military readiness, and the health of U.S. society. Can the all-volunteer force handle a changing international security landscape?

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