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Are there exit strategies for coronavirus? Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

As many countries and cities around the western world go into lockdown, China is beginning to ease restrictions, claiming several days with no new domestic cases of coronavirus. But people have their doubts whether this is true, as the BBC’s Kerry Allen explains. Meanwhile, president Trump wants to ease restrictions as well, hoping for an Easter end date to the lockdown. Dr. Susy Hota, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University Health Network in Toronto, explains why it might not pan out that way. But are we looking for exits too early? Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, has an ear to the conflicting priorities governments are dealing with.

(Picture: Passengers reappear at Wuhan Railway Station on March 24, 2020. Picture credit: Getty Images)

The working from home challenge Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

Snapshots of working from home across the world, as the coronavirus outbreak increases in intensity. From Kaitlin Funaro in LA to Katy Watson in Brazil and Kinjal Pandya in New Delhi: how is the global workforce coping with enforced home working? And is working from home even possible when there are bored children running around?

Do we have the right data on coronavirus? Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

As we face an economic collapse caused by the global coronavirus outbreak, data becomes more valuable than ever. John Ioannidis, Stanford professor of epidemiology, worries about our lack of hard data about the disease, while Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist Michael Levitt says he may have spotted a ray of hope in all the noise. And economist Vicky Pryce joins the programme live to discuss economic responses to the crisis.

(Picture:The Diamond Princess cruise ship. Picture credit: Getty images)

Life under lockdown Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

What is life like under lockdown in some of the world’s poorest cities? We hear from Nairobi and Manila, two cities facing tough measures to combat Covid-19. But is the cure worse than the disease? We’ll also hear from Mohammed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, who is concerned about the impact on the streets if the whole economy freezes up.

Producer: Frey Lindsay

(Picture: A worker sprays disinfectant to curb the spread of COVID-19 in a residential area on March 19, 2020 in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines. Picture credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

Coronavirus: Where's the joined-up thinking? Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

What can be learned from East Asia's response to Covid-19, and from West Africa's Ebola epidemic? And why hasn't there been a unifed global response to the pandemic?

Manuela Saragosa speaks to Francois Balloux, professor of computational biology at University College London, about the difficult options facing the world as we seek to manage coronavirus over the next year or two without crushing the global economy.

But what lessons are there from the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa for the likely long-term impact of the pandemic? Mykay Kamara, chief executive of workplace wellness platform Welbot, was in Sierra Leone during the epidemic and helped recruit medical staff to the region.

Producers: Laurence Knight, Frey Lindsay

(Photo: A worker fixes a WHO coronavirus prevention poster to a billboard in Mumbai, India; Credit: Getty Images)

Can the private sector help struggling hospitals? Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Hand-gels, face masks, even nasal swabs – as the coronavirus spreads, health services are reporting a growing number of shortages at the moment as supplies and supply chains freeze up. Increasingly governments are calling on private companies and individuals to meet the urgent demand. Chad Butters, founder of the Eight Oaks Farm Distillery in Pennsylvania, has turned his facilities over to producing hand sanitizer for local people in need. Meanwhile Project Open Air is crowdsourcing the design of ventilators and other medical equipment, but Rich Branson, a respiratory therapist and professor at the University of Cincinnati, says we need to take care using such equipment.

(Picture: A UK hospital. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Can airlines survive coronavirus? Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

Travel restrictions and a slump in demand due to the coronavirus have forced airlines to cancel most flights and temporarily reduce staff. Will this mean a permanent end to the low-cost travel that many of us have become used to?

Travel expert Simon Calder joins the show to round up the latest industry news and what it means for travellers, while aviation consultant John Strickland explains why the airlines were so vulnerable to begin with. Meanwhile, calls are rising for governments to bail the airline industry out, but finance expert Frances Coppola argues there are many sectors that are just as deserving.

(Picture: Plane interior with passengers wearing masks; Credit: Getty Images)

Coronavirus: Can the risk be contained? Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

The US has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a $700bn stimulus programme in a bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus.

Ed Butler asks Chris Ralph, chief global strategist at St. James’s Place Wealth, whether anything can prop up the financial markets and minimise the economic impact as the US and Europe go into lockdown, with governments shutting down nightlife and ordering the elderly to stay home.

Professor Liam Smeeth, epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, talks to us live about how much these measure can help contain the virus. Can we expect the virus to ease off as the northern hemisphere heads towards summer? When and how will the pandemic end? And what is the best strategy to contain or at least limit the pathogen's progress?

(Picture: President Trump at a White House press conference on Sunday; Credit: Getty Images)

Wet markets and the coronavirus Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

Where the coronavirus came from and why these diseases aren't a one-off. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Dr Juan Lubroth, former chief veterinary officer at the UN's Food and Agricultural Association in Rome, about the risks around so-called 'wet' markets prevalent in East Asia and South East Asia where live animals are sold. Professor Tim Benton, research director of the emerging risks team at the think tank Chatham House tells us why animals are often the source of pathogens that go on to affect humans. Patrick Boyle, a bioengineer with US biotech company Gingko Bioworks, describes the work to develop vaccines. Catherine Rhodes from the Biosecurity Research Initiative at Cambridge University tells us why she's not surprised governments are underprepared for the pandemic.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Photo: A wet market in Taipei, Taiwan. Credit: Getty Images)

The great North Korean crypto hack Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

Crypto-currency and cybercrime have together provided the DPRK with the hard currency it needed to continue with its nuclear weapons programme.

Ed Butler speaks to sanctions specialist Nigel Kushner of W Legal about how Bitcoin and the like are used by sanctioned individuals to continue doing business outside the official banking system. In North Korea's case, much of the business involves outright theft - be it the Wannacry ransomware attack, the hacking of the Bangladeshi central bank's accounts, or robbing of various crypto-exchanges in recent years.

Priscilla Moriuchi of the internet security firm ‎Recorded Future explains how North Korea built this surprisingly sophisticated cybercrime business, while Jesse Spiro of blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis describes the money laundering schemes the country has employed.

Producer: Joshua Thorpe

(Picture: North Korea flag button on computer keyboard; Credit: alexsl/Getty Images)

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