We’re Officially in a Recession. How Bad Will It Get? (0:30)

Guest: Josh Bivens, Director of Research, Economic Policy Institute

The US economy has lost nearly 20 million jobs just since February. We’ve been officially in a recession since then. But at the end of May the federal government announced a surprisingly positive sign – employers added 2.5 million jobs. That coincides with the incremental efforts to re-open in many states. So, what are the chances the economy will be back to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as it dropped off?

 

The Rise of Tactical Urbanization in Light of COVID-19 (19:45)

Guest: Allison Arieff, Urbanist and Editorial Director of San Francisco Bay Area Planning & Urban Research Association

Because of the pandemic, there are fewer cars on our streets. And some cities are even turning whole stretches of road completely over to pedestrians – at least temporarily. Oakland, California has closed more than seventy miles of streets to make safer access for cyclists and pedestrians. Will any of this stick when the pandemic is over?

 

Giraffe’s Social Network Shrinks When Coming in Contact With Humans (37:44)

Guest: Monica Bond, Research Associate at the University of Zürich, Wildlife Biologist, Biodiversity Activist & Principal Scientist for Wild Nature Institute

Humans the world over are keeping their distance from one another because of the coronavirus. Giraffes that live near humans also appear to be keeping their distance from each other – but not because of the virus. University of Zurich research associate Monica Bond is working to gauge the effect human contact has on the social networks of giraffes in Tanzania.

 

Creating Fuel From an Artificial Leaf (51:22)

Guest: Nathan Lewis, Professor of Chemistry, Caltech

Plants capture incoming sunlight and convert it into energy through photosynthesis. But they actually aren’t terribly efficient at it – plants only use 1% of the sunlight that hits them. What if humans could do it better? Take a lot more than 1% and and convert it into fuel to power our cars and planes? That idea has scientists racing to create the “artificial leaf.”

 

What Does a Gender Quota in India Tell Us About Equality Legislation? (1:08:25)

Guest: Alexander Lee, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester

Gender quotas are sometimes implemented by various groups and governments as a means to have equal representation of both men and women in all parts of society. Research done in India however has provided surprising results into the impacts of these requirements on ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

 

Sorry, Parallel Universe, Antarctica’s Neutrinos Probably Have Another Explanation (1:25:03)

Guest: Ian Shoemaker, Theoretical Physicist, Center for Neutrino Physics, Virginia Tech

NASA scientists have discovered the existence of a parallel universe that’s backwards and upside down from our own. That’s what the viral headlines on social media claimed a few weeks back. But it was more a case of science fiction wishful thinking. The existence of a parallel universe is one of many theories scientists have put forward to explain a strange phenomenon documented by a NASA program studying cosmic rays in the Antarctic.