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John Barry, Author of The Great Influenza, Discusses Similarities and Differences Between Coronavirus and the 1918 Pandemic May 29, 2020

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John Barry is the author of the 2004 book The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, a comprehensive study of the 1918 Influenza pandemic, which has gained a resurgence in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. He has authored two recent OpEds in The New York Times in which he compares the subject of his book with our current health crisis, and enumerates some of the lessons we can learn from that outbreak and apply to our handling of COVID-19, which he discusses today.

Mr. Barry is hesitant to equate the 1918 pandemic with our current outbreak, as the differences are important when comparing how the diseases progress. For one, the overwhelming number of victims of the influenza of 1918 were between the ages of 20 and 40, while a majority of those affected by COVID-19 have been over 65. Additionally, COVID is thought to be much more transmissible than influenza was, but not as deadly. Mr. Barry stresses, though, that two lessons can be learned from the first pandemic: that social distancing does, and clear has, worked. And that honesty and transparency from the federal government are vital, a factor he notes, that has not been valued in the current situation.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Scientists to Stop COVID-19 May 27, 2020

Show notes

Today, we are joined by a panel of leading medical professionals who recently formed the group Scientists to Stop Covid 19:

Doctors David Liu, Michael Rosbash,Stuart Schreiber, Ramnik Xavier and Edward Skolnick come from different disciplines and research areas, but have united behind this effort to help policymakers develop a comprehensive and science based approach to stop this virus.

Today, they will discuss promising treatments for COVID-19, including Remdesivir and various Monoclonal antibodies, as well as the timeline for a possible vaccine.

The Scientists to Stop COVID-19 discuss both the promise and the pitfalls of various treatment options. Remdesivir, originally developed to treat Ebola, has been used with some success to combat COVID-19, but requires 5-10 days of IV administration, making it inaccessible for those at home. That’s partly why these scientists see more promise in monoclonal antibodies, which use the body’s own immune system to block the virus’s ability to regenerate in the body. Finally, of course, there is the vaccine route and these scientists see potential for a vaccine to be available by the end of the year.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Secretary Tom Vilsack Discusses the Impact of Covid-19 on Agriculture, Farmers, and Rural Economies May 25, 2020

Show notes

Tom Vilsack was the governor of Iowa from 1999 until 2007 before serving as President Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture. Since 2017, he has served as the president and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council, a trade group representing the interest of US dairy producers. Today, he discusses the unique impact the pandemic is having on agriculture, farmers, and rural economies.

US agriculture has been hit hard by this virus. As Secretary Vilsack explains, school closures have decreased the demand for milk. Restaurant closures have hit demand for produce and meat. Secretary Vilsack suggests two courses of action moving forward: first, we must determine a way for those who have lost their jobs to purchase more through additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. And second, we need to improve the disconnect between the demand of food banks and the supply of retailers. To do this, financial incentives should be given to farmers to donate rather than dump produce.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Dr. Campbell Harvey on the Future of the Economy and the Recovery May 22, 2020

Show notes

Campbell R. Harvey is a professor of finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as President of the American Finance Association in 2016. Today, he discusses the most pressing economic decisions facing America in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what we can learn from the responses of other countries, and how his original forecasts have changed as the crisis has progressed.

This crisis allows us to see the future through the experiences of countries that were hit before the United States - like China, South Korea, and Sweden - and to consider their approaches in determining our own. According to Dr. Harvey, different parts of the country will have to draw different lessons from abroad that cater to individual demographics, densities, ages, and risk levels. He also explains that while his original economic forecast for the rest of the year was bleak, he thinks the public’s lockdown fatigue may encourage economic growth to pick up more quickly. He also thinks more good news on creating a vaccine could really accelerate that growth.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs, on the Impact of Infrastructure after COVID-19 May 20, 2020

Show notes

Dan Doctoroff was deputy mayor of New York City for Economic Development and Rebuilding under Michael Bloomberg, taking office right after 9/11. After that, he was the CEO and President of Bloomberg LP, the leading provider of news to the global financial community. He is now the CEO of Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company he founded in partnership with Google that develops products, services and platforms to help make cities become more efficient. He recently wrote an OpEd in The New York Times about the path to recovery in New York City, which he discusses today.

As you heard Dan Doctoroff explain, New York City had to transform after 9/11. But he believes we need a much bigger transformation in the wake of this pandemic. Even as cities develop new technologies and processes to improve hygiene and preparadness, Doctoroff thinks we wil need even more innovation to make cities more sustainable, affordable and livable.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Clinical Professor Richard Berner Discusses the Economic Effects of the Virus and Washington's Response May 15, 2020

Show notes

Richard Berner is a Clinical Professor of Management Practice at the NYU Stern School of Business. He was a counselor to the U.S. Treasury Secretary from 2011 to 2013, before becoming the first director of the department’s Office of Financial Research. Today, he’ll discuss the effects of the current crisis on the economy and his perspective on Washington’s response.

As Dr. Berner explains, the path of economic recovery is entirely dependent on containing coronavirus, which itself is dependent on the development of a vaccine. Until a vaccine comes along, Dr. Berner thinks the public will be cautious with their spending. In the meantime, he thinks government needs to step up with more impactful stimulus as he believes the Federal Reserve can only do so much.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Philip K. Howard of Common Good Discusses How to Overhaul the Way Government Works May 13, 2020

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Phil Howard is the founder and CEO of Common Good, a nonpartisan reform coalition with the goal of restoring the freedom of officials and citizens to use common sense. He is a noted commentator on the effects of modern law and bureaucracy on human behavior and the workings of society, and he recently authored an OpEd in The Hill calling for an independent, bipartisan commission tasked with decisions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he discusses today.

Mr. Howard argues that the spread of COVID-19 could have been prevented, or at least curbed, had restrictions not hindered necessary research and precautions. He firmly believes that what we need is an authority mechanism that won’t prevent the country from getting back up and running and that will cut through the red tape. If each restaurant needs to be inspected before reopening, for example, the path to reopen the economy will be much slower. We need to use this crisis, he explains, to reinvent how the government operates and how it responds to crises.

Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

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Dr. Deepak Srivastava and the Science of Infection, Testing, and Treatment May 11, 2020

Show notes

Deepak Srivastava is president of Gladstone Institutes. He is also the Younger Family Professor and a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and director of the Roddenberry Stem Cell Center. At UC San Francisco (UCSF), Srivastava is a professor in the departments of pediatrics and biochemistry and biophysics. Today, he discusses novel approaches to COVID-19 diagnostic testing, treatments, and prevention. Dr. Srivastava dives right into the three key components of the COVID-19 pandemic that will affect how we move forward. He maintains that chief among those components - testing, treatment, and prevention via vaccine - is the improvement needed to diagnostic testing. By moving from the current method of lab testing, which is expensive and tests by amplifying viral genomes, to a test done in real time, we can begin reopening businesses and resuming a sense of normalcy. One possibility he suggests is the work being done by a virologist at the Gladstone Institute using CRISPR technology and enabling a smartphone camera to operate as a microscope, eliminating the need to amplify genomes and send every test to a lab for results. Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

Dr. Mickey Levy and Dr. Robert Kaplan Discuss How to Get the Economy Open Again May 08, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Mickey Levy is chief economist for the Americas and Asia for Berenberg Capital Markets, LLC. He has over 30 years’ experience conducting economic and public policy research and forecasting global and US economic and financial market performance. Dr. Robert Kaplan is an American accounting academic, and Emeritus Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School. Today, they discuss their recent OpEd in the Wall Street Journal, “How to Get America Working Again,” and what methods the federal and state governments should employ to reopen the economy. When considering reopening the economy, two overarching considerations need to be taken into account: regional differences and industry needs. Different regions have different levels of exposure to COVID-19, different access to rapid testing, and different availability to trained healthcare professionals. Industries also differ in terms of their age distribution, the ability for employees to socially distance while working, and the importance of the sector to the supply chain. Drs. Kaplan and Levy argue that the first step that should be taken by the federal government is ramping up the availability of COVID testing and utilizing contact tracing to get a better sense of who should go back to work. Go to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to stop the virus, save lives and get Americans back to work.

The Science Behind COVID-19 with Dr. William Haseltine May 06, 2020

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