Science and tech headlines: 

• England ended all pandemic-related safety restrictions today. The British tabloids are calling it “Freedom Day,” but Rebecca and John don't see it quite the same way. 
• China was the only country to see continued growth in robotics in 2020. 

News items: 

• Floods in Germany have killed 200 people and hundreds more are still missing. John and Rebecca discuss how the tragedy, and the larger specter of climate change, could influence Germany’s upcoming elections.  
• A report by the American Association for Public Opinion Research finds that the 2020 polls were worse than in any election cycle since 1980 – John calls BS. 
• With Fed Chair Jay Powell’s term ending in 2022, Biden must decide whether to reappoint him, or to bow to progressive pressure, and nominate someone who will be tougher on banks. John and Rebecca explain why they’re on “Team Powell” and why the Fed Chair’s role is so tricky. 
• The index fund turns fifty this month! At $16 trillion, and growing, passive investing is making some Wall Street giants even bigger, and that may pose a problem. Rebecca explains the history of the index fund and what it means when she says that active fund managers are now “the underdog.”

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Science and tech headlines:The CEO of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, says vaccine booster shots are critical to beating the pandemic.

• Apple anticipates a jump in demand for its next line of iPhones, as evidenced by its order to manufacture 90 million of them.

News items: 

• REvil, the Russian hacking group responsible for recent cyber attacks on JBS Foods and other companies, went offline on Tuesday. Rebecca asks John who he thinks is behind the shutdown — Biden, Putin, or the hackers themselves?
• Peter Shepard and Morgan Stanley are working on an “ultimate index” which would track all markets, including commodities and private assets like real estate and private equity. Rebecca thinks it's a disaster in the making.
• France’s antitrust watchdog recently fined Google 500 million euros for failing to talk with news publishers about using their copyrighted work. Here in the US, the FTC announced a probe into Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal with MGM. John and Rebecca disagree on what big tech owes legacy media. 
• Holdings in both Chinese stocks and bonds have surged globally. Rebecca explains why.

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Science and tech headlines: 

• Chinese scientists have drawn up plans for a fleet of rockets that could push a potentially Earth-bound asteroid off course.
• Waters near areas with high levels of amphetamine use can be polluted by trace methamphetamines, and Czech researchers have found that fish can grow addicted to it. The drug reduces their overall activity and shows up in their brain tissue.

News items: 

• England’s “Freedom Day” from COVID restrictions, set for July 19, (and amidst a surge in infections driven by the Delta variant) is a political decision – and not a smart one, according to John.
• Taliban forces are expected to quickly fill the void left by US troops departing Afghanistan, and neighbors Iran and Pakistan have reason to worry about their national security.
• Is there really a rift between Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg, as the New York Times suggests? John thinks not. 
• Recently announced Senate candidate J.D. Vance is currently polling at only 5%, but his campaign already has the mainstream media and Democrats freaking out.

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Every morning on The Recount Daily Pod, host journalist Reena Ninan will break down the most important news of the day, both domestically and abroad. In 5 minutes or less, you’ll walk away feeling smarter and more in sync with the world. Then, tune in for an interview with journalists who are on the forefront of the stories that affect us all. 

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John interviews David Barboza, the Pulitzer Prize-winning co-founder of the digital newsmagazine The Wire China. They discuss how the country has changed in the last few decades; why predictions of China’s economic collapse never pan out; the potential for war over Taiwan; and how the Chinese Communist Party lost the international community’s trust.

This is a longer, lightly edited version of an interview that ran on Thursday, June 17.

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