Latest Interviews

Telehealth’s Rapid Rise

Jim Sinclair, Liz

Telehealth has rapidly expanded from primary care to encompass mental health, chronic disease management, and biopharma engagement through employer benefits, direct-to-consumer models, and integrated hospital systems. Regulatory shifts during the pandemic, including Medicare reimbursement parity and cross-state licensing, removed historical barriers while maintaining HIPAA compliance to address privacy concerns. This evolution drives long-term cost reductions by prioritizing home-based care and improving access for underserved populations, although certain specialties like anesthesiology remain physically constrained to in-person interactions.

Covid-19: what the world has learned during lockdown

Ed Carr, Callum Williams, Edward Carr

A comprehensive review of the pandemic examines uncertain long-term immunity, the divergent economic impacts of lockdowns on wealthy versus emerging markets, and the tension between national self-interest and global vaccine distribution. Epidemiological case studies from Sweden, India, and various Asian nations highlight the varying effectiveness of voluntary versus enforced social distancing amidst constraints like school safety and informal labor. The discussion concludes by urging institutional reforms for the World Health Organization and mandatory domestic production audits to ensure nations can better withstand future viral threats.

How to stop plastic getting into the ocean

Claire

Ocean Clean-up founder Boyan Slat leads an organization deploying Interceptor boats across Asia, Africa, and South America to intercept an estimated two-thirds of river-borne plastic before it reaches the ocean. These vessels collect approximately 50,000 kilograms of waste daily, utilizing data from advanced camera systems to quantify debris and inform policies targeting the 1,000 waterways responsible for 80% of global ocean pollution. To ensure long-term viability and mitigate the projected 2050 crisis where marine plastic could outweigh fish, the group is scaling its fleet while transitioning collected waste into sellable products to achieve operational self-sufficiency.

Healthcare Has Left the Building

Jorge Conde

A structural transformation is dissolving traditional silos between payers, providers, and technology firms to shift care from centralized hospitals to home settings while leveraging mobile diagnostics and AI-driven logistics. Major market entrants are challenging established models through value-based care initiatives and programmed therapies that enable proactive monitoring and personalized treatments like gene editing. This evolution modernizes the medical ecosystem to prioritize patient outcomes and efficiency, though the fundamental human need for care remains the driving force behind these technological accelerations.

Covid-19: the right way to leave lockdown

Edward Carr

Governments worldwide are navigating a complex, non-linear path to reopen economies by balancing staggered social distancing measures with the deployment of digital contact-tracing tools like those pioneered by Apple, Google, and China. While nations such as Germany and Denmark implement strict school and business protocols, experts warn that effective recovery depends on massive investments in testing infrastructure, PPE, and a workforce of 100,000 tracers to avoid costly lockdowns. Simultaneously, the global health community is racing to resolve manufacturing bottlenecks for three vaccine candidates to prevent "vaccine nationalism" and ensure equitable distribution to healthcare workers in developing nations.

Covid-19: Why is America's death toll so high?

Idrees Colun

On April 11, the United States surpassed Italy as the global leader in coronavirus fatalities with over 20,500 deaths, a crisis exacerbated by early federal inaction and delayed testing rollout. A disjointed national response driven by structural federalism and deep partisan polarization resulted in divergent state policies, from New York's strict lockdowns to Florida's prolonged delays, which allowed unchecked viral transmission across borders. Compounded by a fragmented healthcare system lacking universal coverage and adequate ICU capacity, analysts attribute the mounting death toll to this combination of erratic leadership, systemic fragmentation, and low public compliance in certain regions.

How to treat covid-19

In response to the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, scientists are repurposing existing antivirals like Remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine to target the viral replicase system while the World Health Organization launches a global megatrial to evaluate their efficacy. Although President Donald Trump championed hydroxychloroquine as an immediate solution, rigorous clinical data remains limited compared to laboratory findings, prompting the trial to seek evidence of marginal therapeutic benefits. This strategy aims to rapidly reduce hospital stays and alleviate health system strain while the definitive long-term vaccine solution continues to develop over the estimated 1.5 to 2 years.

India’s Response to the Economic Downturn

Prachi Mishra, Liz

Goldman Sachs revised India's FY21 growth forecast to 1.6% after projecting a 220 basis point contraction from the nationwide lockdown and 150 basis points from global contagion, marking a deeper downturn than historical recessions but milder than the 1979 decline. The outlook anticipates a severe Q1 and Q2 recession followed by a H2 recovery dependent on infection control, expanded fiscal stimulus beyond the initial 0.8% GDP package, and continued monetary easing by the Reserve Bank of India. While Foreign Institutional Investors have withdrawn over $17 billion, the Indian Rupee remains relatively resilient due to a benign current account deficit and substantial foreign exchange reserves, though short-term depreciation is expected before stabilizing at approximately 72 INR/USD within a year.

How Africa could one day rival China

Ida, Emabet Tesfaye, Asifa Mengesha, Bashadou

Projections indicate Africa's population will reach 4.5 billion by 2100, yet studies suggest that expanding female education could peak and subsequently reduce this demographic while unlocking a 10% GDP boost through equal workforce participation. As Ethiopia leads industrialization via the Eastern Industry Zone and high-value horticulture, experts warn that diversifying into service sectors and modernizing agriculture with smart technologies are essential to overcome low productivity and chronic infrastructure deficits. Despite facing climate vulnerabilities and recent pandemic disruptions, the continent's transition toward democratic governance and strategic investment in energy and education positions it to become a primary global growth engine.

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

Philip Coggan

Global markets have plummeted due to the pandemic-induced collapse of commodity prices and a historic surge in unemployment, triggering the fastest bear market decline on record as investors rapidly devalued future profit projections. Governments worldwide have deployed over $2.2 trillion in fiscal relief to balance economic survival against strict lockdowns that aim to prevent a spike in mortality rates, even though models warn that prolonged restrictions could slash U.S. and Eurozone GDP by one-third. While early indicators from China suggest a V-shaped recovery is possible, economists caution that restoring global supply chains and achieving economic stability will require a slow, cautious approach as nations navigate the trade-off between public health and financial contraction.

Covid-19: more questions about coronavirus, answered

Ed Carr, Alok Jha, Edward Carr

Policymakers and economic analysts are addressing the severe trade-off between strict disease containment and deepening economic contraction, with US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warning that unemployment could reach 20% without intervention. The event evaluates the likely L-shaped recession trajectory while examining how global aid, healthcare disparities, and the virus's seasonal mutation patterns will shape long-term recovery. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes the necessity of international cooperation to restore scientific trust and accelerate vaccine development within an 18-to-24-month window despite rising nationalistic trends.

How noise pollution threatens ocean life

Michel Andre, Claire

Research led by scientists like Michel Andre has identified human-induced noise from shipping, sonar, and seismic exploration as a critical global threat causing mass strandings and acoustic trauma across thousands of marine species. To address this, the scientific community is utilizing 150 global listening platforms and artificial intelligence to distinguish natural sounds from anthropogenic noise, revealing a 60% reduction in whale communication capabilities in the Northern Hemisphere. Future industry strategies now prioritize integrating noise reduction technologies and developing non-invasive alternatives to ensure operational efficiency while eliminating the transient but severe acoustic disturbances threatening marine ecosystems.

The new coronavirus: how should the world respond?

As the global pandemic escalated to 565 deaths and triggered market panic in mid-March, governments enforced unprecedented lockdowns while grappling with a stark trade-off between life-saving suppression and severe economic collapse. Analysis of China's strategy and modeling by Imperial College London demonstrated that only sustained social distancing could prevent critical care from exceeding capacity, though economic indicators like China's 20% retail decline signaled the high cost of such measures. Meanwhile, contrasting successes in Singapore and South Korea highlighted the necessity of aggressive testing and clear communication, even as experts warned that effective antibody testing and vaccines remain months away from resolution.

Mangroves: how they help the ocean

Lillian, Mark Huxham

Global mangrove ecosystems face imminent collapse due to industrial expansion, prompting the launch of Mikoko Pomoja in Kenya's Ghazi Bay as the world's first community-led project funded by carbon credits. This initiative has successfully generated over $60,000 for local communities while sequestering significant carbon in sediment, effectively incentivizing conservation over resource extraction. Although experts caution that such offsets cannot replace broader policy reforms, the model is gaining traction as a replicable strategy for marine protection and economic stability across the region.

Gamers are Entering a New Era of Monetization

Kevin Chou, Marshmallo

Addressing the severe economic barriers within the $150 billion global gaming industry, Forte is deploying blockchain infrastructure to democratize participation for the 2.4 billion existing gamers. This ecosystem facilitates true digital ownership, peer-to-peer asset trading, and creator monetization through smart contracts that secure royalties for developers. By transforming passive consumers into active entrepreneurs and service providers, the platform aims to bypass the elite-only models of traditional game development, esports, and streaming.