Coronavirus Conversations: How systemic racism intersects with the pandemic
Calls for social justice and police reform have gained momentum as unrest continues across around the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. These calls are intersecting with the coronavirus pandemic. As part of our regular series discussing the coronavirus crisis, The World's health reporter Elana Gordon moderated a live conversation with David Harris, managing director of the Charl...
32m Jun 19, 2020
32m
Number in The News: 80 — travel bubbles are forming around the world — but not with the US
From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 80. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that international tourism could decline by 80 percent this year. Governments are trying to mitigate that by forming “travel bubbles” with neighboring regions. These allow for travel across borders for non-essential trips without quarantining upon arrival.
3m Jun 19, 2020
3m
US Supreme Court issues ruling on DACA
In a much-anticipated decision issued Thursday morning, the US Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration's attempt to cancel Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. And, a new study shows how an anti-poverty program has an unexpected benefit when it comes to saving Indonesian forests. Also, farmers in China turned to livestreaming to sell off their produce during th...
45m Jun 18, 2020
45m
S3 Ep3: (Special) The wrong apocalypse — so you want your own army?
In Russia, after almost a decade in prison, businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin was released into a new world: Mikhail Gorbachev had given his last speech as leader of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party was outlawed. Soon, gangs were violently extorting new business owners and the murder rate soared in the country. But Prigozhin was comfortable with chaos. He started a hot dog stand an...
26m Jun 18, 2020
26m
The UN addresses systemic racism and police brutality
The United Nations addressed systemic racism and police brutality in the US. And, in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, many people in the Middle East say they need more conversations about anti-black racism at home. Also, a transgender Kuwaiti woman was released on bail after support poured in from across the globe. Her lawyer calls it "the biggest LGBT moveme...
45m Jun 17, 2020
45m
China imposes restrictions after new coronavirus cases
A new cluster of cases of the coronavirus in Beijing is raising concerns about a second wave in China. Also, anger is mounting over the deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police in Canada, sparked by the killing of George Floyd. And, how South Africa’s transition from apartheid to a new South Africa might be instructive for how the United States might use this unprecedented mo...
45m Jun 16, 2020
45m
Public health consequences of protests during a pandemic
Thousands have taken to the streets around the world to protest police brutality and systemic racism. But many public health experts are not as distressed about these large demonstrations as one might think. And, as the US targets the International Criminal Court with sanctions, the court makes a breakthrough in Sudan. Also, a team of psychology researchers in the UK has found that swe...
46m Jun 15, 2020
46m
Latin America's reckoning with racism and police violence
The World continues its coverage of campaigns for police reform across the globe. Host Marco Werman speaks with Siana Bangura, an organizer in London, and Miski Noor, an activist with Black Visions Collective in Minneapolis. Also, The World's Jorge Valencia has a story about police killings in Latin America.  Tensions continue to escalate between the US and China. The US Navy is dispa...
46m Jun 12, 2020
46m
The coronavirus crisis is pushing millions into extreme poverty
The coronavirus pandemic could set the planet back on decades worth of progress in securing access to food for millions of people living in poverty. And, protests against police brutality and racism in the US and elsewhere are resonating in South Africa, which has its own complicated history of police violence. Also, Russian emergency teams are still working to contain an oil spill in ...
46m Jun 11, 2020
46m
Global movements to end systemic racial discrimination
Wednesday on The World, we'll check in on global movements to end systemic racial discrimination. First to Toronto, Canada, where the city’s first black police chief resigned abruptly — months before he was supposed to and without explanation. And, thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the US Embassy in Madrid over the weekend to commemorate the life of George Floyd. But, the...
45m Jun 10, 2020
45m
Black Lives Matter solidarity protests spread globally
In Greece, people are staging protests and actions in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Organizers say the protests aren't just about police brutality, but also about the treatment of migrants in the country. And, voters in Georgia are voting today — most casting absentee ballots. As part of our weekly series, "Every 30 Seconds," we profile a young Latina in Atlanta, Let...
46m Jun 09, 2020
46m
Global protests against racial discrimination continue to spread
Protests against racial discrimination and social injustice continue across the globe. At a rally last weekend in Bristol, England, activists pulled down the statue of a 17th-century slave trader and dumped it in the harbor. And, the notion of putting the US military into the streets to quell unrest is a bridge too far for many people, including many military leaders. Also, As East Afr...
45m Jun 08, 2020
45m
Protesters worldwide face controversial police tactics
The tactics used by police forces to control protesters around the world over the death of George Floyd have included the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. Use of those instruments may violate international law, experts say. And, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, has retracted a scientific article about the effects of hydroxychloroquine in treating COV...
46m Jun 05, 2020
46m
Protesters worldwide face controversial police tactics
The tactics used by police forces to control protesters around the world over the death of George Floyd have included the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. Use of those instruments may violate international law, experts say. And, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, has retracted a scientific article about the effects of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19. Pl...
47m Jun 05, 2020
47m
Number in The News: 1,000 — English mill resumes commercial production to provide local bakeries with flour
From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 1,000. Seventy-nine-year-old Pete Loosmore is the supervisor of the Sturminster Newton Mill, normally a tourist attraction in Dorset, England. But now, due to flour shortages in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Loosmore has increased the mill's four production back to commercial levels to meet a spike in demand and sup...
3m Jun 05, 2020
3m
The parallels of police violence in the US and around the world
We continue to focus on the two biggest stories across the globe: Police violence against black people in the US and around the world, and the coronavirus pandemic. The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the killing of a 14-year-old boy during a botched police raid in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is forcing a reckoning in both countries. Also, how tes...
46m Jun 04, 2020
46m
The parallels of police violence in the US and around the world
We continue to focus on the two biggest stories across the globe: Police violence against black people in the US and around the world, and the coronavirus pandemic. The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the killing of a 14-year-old boy during a botched police raid in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is forcing a reckoning in both countries. Also, how testing and ...
46m Jun 04, 2020
46m
(Special) While we were sleeping
If the US can’t build better airports or trains than China — or even take care of itself in times of major crisis like the coronavirus pandemic or current civil strife — how exactly is it supposed to “beat” China in this global competition we’re in? A co-production of PRX and Inkstick Media, and in partnership with The World, Things That Go Boom host Laicie Heeley looks back to see how China’s ...
27m Jun 04, 2020
27m
Facing the threat of coronavirus and state violence
Black Americans are facing two existential threats: the coronavirus pandemic and state violence. And, a recent exchange of cyberattacks between Iran and Israel, which included an attack on critical civilian infrastructure, is threatening to change the unofficial, but implicit agreement on the rules of engagement between these regional rivals. Also, a new collection from music producer and DJ, T...
48m Jun 03, 2020
48m
The intersection of racism and health amid the corornavirus
Today, The World explores the intersection of racism and health in this critical moment around the globe. And, as protests against police brutality continue across the world, many people are using social media to monitor events in real time, raising concerns about misinformation, conspiracy theories and outright false stories. Also, when Italy was hit hard by COVID-19 in February, researchers s...
48m Jun 02, 2020
48m
What a global focus on US protests could mean
The United States is no stranger to police brutality and violence. But with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, has the world's attention changed the equation? And, from Iran to China to Russia, America's adversaries are using the protests as anti-US propaganda fodder. Also, hundreds of LGBTQ Pride events have been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Still, many people aroun...
46m Jun 01, 2020
46m
What a global focus on US protests could mean
The United States is no stranger to police brutality and violence. But with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, has the world's attention changed the equation? And, from Iran to China to Russia, America's adversaries are using the protests as anti-US propaganda fodder. Also, hundreds of LGBTQ Pride events have been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Still, many people around the wor...
47m Jun 01, 2020
47m
Gobal lens focused on Minneapolis protests
The news out of Minnesota has been intensifying with each passing day this week. The death of a black man named George Floyd while in police custody led to protests and violence in Minneapolis and captured the global news spotlight. Also, like many states in the US, Nevada was struggling to test residents when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Eventually, help arrived from an unlikely place: an art...
46m May 29, 2020
46m
The global lens focused on Minneapolis protests
The news out of Minnesota has been intensifying with each passing day this week. The death of a black man named George Floyd while in police custody led to protests and violence in Minneapolis and captured the global news spotlight. Also, like many states in the US, Nevada was struggling to test residents when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Eventually, help arrived from an unlikely place: an art...
46m May 29, 2020
46m
Coronavirus vaccine trial showing promise
Health experts say that a coronavirus vaccine trial out of University of Oxford in England, is showing promise. And, on-the-spot temperature checks at airports, football stadiums and retail stores may soon become the norm. But workers' unions and civil rights groups are worried. Also, one of the many sectors of the economy hurting during the pandemic is the auto industry. Despite the slump, ele...
47m May 28, 2020
47m
Coronavirus conversations: Stopping the spread of misinformation amid the coronavirus crisis
Amplified by social media, misinformation can undermine critical public health efforts and fuel conspiracy theories — which are particularly dangerous amid the coronavirus crisis. As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon moderated a conversation with K. “Vish” Viswanath, professor of health communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Publi...
37m May 28, 2020
37m
Governments work on recovery plans as societies open up following coronavirus lockdowns
Governments everywhere are trying to figure out how to put together a recovery plan to get past the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic. The European Union on Wednesday moved forward on its plan. And, US officials signaled that they’re preparing to remove Hong Kong’s special trade status, declaring that it is no longer autonomous from China. Also, the world is living through stressful t...
47m May 27, 2020
47m
The business of vaccines amid a global pandemic
The race is on to create a vaccine to protect people from the coronavirus. It’s a global emergency which means nearly the entire globe’s population of more than 7 billion needs a vaccine. That could mean lots of money for the company that creates it — or maybe not. And, for the past few weeks, the world has been getting a rare glimpse into a heated feud between Bashar al-Assad and his billionai...
46m May 26, 2020
46m
Number in The News: 1918 — the coronavirus could change the way homes are designed
From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 1918. The 1918 influenza pandemic had a profound influence on how homes — and in particular, bathrooms — were designed. The coronavirus could have the same impact. Lloyd Alter, a design historian and professor at Ryerson University School of Interior Design in Toronto, explains what changes may be coming. Sinks in hallways,...
4m May 26, 2020
4m
Epicenter of pandemic shifts to South America
The World checks in with a leading epidemiologist, Caroline Buckee from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on the latest coronavirus news: where the virus is now spreading across the globe, the timeline on a vaccine, and how we are doing to slow the spread of disease. And, is the United States entering a new Cold War, this time with China? The two nations were already sparrin...
46m May 25, 2020
46m
Epicenter of pandemic shifts to South America
The World checks in with a leading epidemiologist, Caroline Buckee from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on the latest coronavirus news: where the virus is now spreading across the globe, the timeline on a vaccine, and how we are doing to slow the spread of disease. And, is the United States entering a new Cold War, this time with China? The two nations were already sparring over tr...
47m May 25, 2020
47m
Trump to withdraw US from Open Skies arms treaty
US President Donald Trump has decided to pull the US out of the Open Skies arms control treaty that allows nations to fly over one another's territory with surveillance equipment. Former State Department official Alex Bell tells host Marco Werman that the move is more evidence that the White House plans to exit the START Treaty, which limits deployed nuclear missiles. And that could herald a ne...
47m May 22, 2020
47m
Worrisome numbers for the coronavirus crisis
The weather’s getting nice, summer is around the corner and economies around the globe are starting to re-open after months of pandemic lockdown. All sounds pretty good, except for one thing: the COVID-19 numbers. They’re not good at all. And, in Canada, the western province of British Columbia was already battling a major health crisis when the coronavirus emerged: that of skyrocketing overdos...
46m May 21, 2020
46m
Coronavirus conversations: Lessons from the coronavirus pandemic to avert a future crisis
The coronavirus pandemic has underscored the critical role of public health in protecting people around the world. But the crisis has also exposed the need for more investment to help prevent a pandemic of this magnitude from happening again. As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Dr. Howard Koh of the Harvard T.H....
42m May 21, 2020
42m
(Featured) World War C
The US spends more than $700 billion on defense every year, more than healthcare, education and all the rest of our discretionary spending combined. And yet the coronavirus slipped silently and invisibly across our borders, and even onto our aircraft carriers. You could say we were preparing for World War III, when we got hammered by World War C. The Things That Go Boom podcast is back with a n...
23m May 21, 2020
23m
Trump administration is using the pandemic to halt young asylum-seekers
The pandemic has not stopped children and teenage migrants from showing up alone at the US border hoping to apply for asylum. But how they’re being treated by US authorities has changed dramatically and critics say the Trump administration is using the pandemic as a way to halt any entries across the border. Also, the historic theater district in London has been quiet since the coronavirus outb...
46m May 20, 2020
46m
WHO director-general vows to continue fighting the coronavirus
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus closed the WHO’s two-day annual assembly vowing to continue to lead the fight against the pandemic which "threatens to tear at the fabric of international cooperation.” And, a super cyclone is set to hit India and Bangladesh Wednesday. Millions of people are being evacuated all while the countries face the coronavirus crisis....
46m May 19, 2020
46m
World Health Assembly goes virtual
It’s an unprecedented time and situation. “A microscopic virus has brought us to our knees,” said United Nations Secretary General António Guterres at the start of today’s 73rd annual World Health Assembly. Leaders from around the world convened — for the first time virtually — for two days of meetings to address the world’s response to the global pandemic. Speakers included China’s Pr...
46m May 19, 2020
46m
World leaders convene to address coronavirus crisis response
It’s an unprecedented time and situation. “A microscopic virus has brought us to our knees,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the start of the 73rd annual World Health Assembly on Monday. Leaders from around the world convened, for the first time virtually, for two days of meetings to address the world's response to the global pandemic. And, Brazil, one of the world’s c...
46m May 18, 2020
46m
Reassessing the effects of the coronavirus on children
For awhile it seemed kids were largely spared by the impacts of the coronavirus. But doctors are beginning to reassess this. In very rare instances, the virus now appears to be associated with an extreme overreaction of the immune system in children, requiring intensive care. The World's host Marco Werman speaks to Dr. Lorenzo D’Antiga in Bergamo, Italy. Spain has been one of the European count...
46m May 15, 2020
46m
New COVID-19 cases in China prompt massive testing plan
A handful of newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in Wuhan, China, widely believed to be the original epicenter of the disease. The new cases have the Chinese government moving forward with a sweeping new plan of mass testing. And, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities to bioweapons all around the world. A record 1.1 billion people watched the FIFA Wo...
47m May 14, 2020
47m
Coronavirus conversations: How do we reopen workplaces safely amid the coronavirus crisis?
Governments around the world are looking to start reopening society. But there have been a variety of approaches, and many people want to know: When is it safe to go back to work? As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Joseph Allen from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health on how to make an office environmen...
36m May 14, 2020
36m
Feature: How do we reopen workplaces safely amid the coronavirus crisis?
Governments around the world are looking to start reopening society. But there have been a variety of approaches, and many people want to know: When is it safe to go back to work? As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon moderated a discussion with Joseph Allen from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health on how to make an office environmen...
36m May 14, 2020
36m
Scientists work to understand immunity from the coronavirus
We still don't know whether people who've been infected with the novel coronavirus are immune from infection, and if so, for how long. But scientists are starting to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Madagascar is marketing a new herbal drink as a potential treatment — if not a cure — for the coronavirus. While the World Health Organization has warned against the use of untested treatments...
46m May 13, 2020
46m
US-China tensions threaten the fight against the coronavirus
Renewed tensions between Beijing and Washington threaten cooperation on halting the spread of COVID-19 and make completion of a landmark trade deal between the two superpowers less likely. And, countries everywhere are weighing the decision of when and how to reopen. But, there's no easy answers and no blueprint to follow. Also, for those stuck at home, especially with children, Japanese anima...
46m May 12, 2020
46m
Confusion over the UK's plan for lifting coronavirus restrictions
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out his exit strategy for how the UK comes out of lockdown. But not everyone is backing it, including leading lawmakers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And, when the globe first learned about the new coronavirus emerging in China, we were basically told to watch out for two things: a fever or a persistent, dry cough. But, a lot has changed...
46m May 11, 2020
46m
Brazil emerging as a new epicenter for the coronavirus
Brazil has become one of the global epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, recently passing China in the number of reported cases. And, black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die with coronavirus as white people in England and Wales according to government officials. Also, the Puerto Rican indie pop duo Buscabulla have released their debut album "Regresa."
46m May 08, 2020
46m
Number in The News: 6: Astronaut shares lessons on surviving social isolation
From The World and PRX, this is the Number in the News. Today’s number: 6. Astronaut Cady Coleman understands what isolation feels like. Coleman spent nearly six months living on the International Space Station. With much of the world under lockdown to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus, Coleman is sharing lessons on surviving social isolation to help people down on planet Earth.
4m May 08, 2020
4m
Why developing a vaccine for coronavirus is critical
One reliable path to economic recovery is getting a vaccine for the coronavirus. The World discusses the latest and explains the race to develop a vaccine. In Poland, the ruling conservative government was pushing for presidential elections this Sunday by mail. But some lawmakers rebelled, and the ruling Law and Justice party, or PiS, agreed to postpone things. When, and how exactly Poles will ...
46m May 07, 2020
46m
Are the US and China at a crossroads?
Relations between Beijing and Washington have long been rocky. But now many leaders in both capitals see a more serious rupture as inevitable or even desirable. And, across the US, various groups have mobilized to confront the sudden, intense crisis of starvation among immigrants and refugees. Also, Scottish virologist June Almeida identified the first coronavirus in 1964. But her work in the f...
46m May 06, 2020
46m