Olympics to Happen Next Summer in Tokyo (0:29)

Guest: David Wallechinsky, President of the International Society of Olympic Historians

There will be no 16 days of glory this summer in Tokyo. For the first time in modern Olympic history, the games have been postponed to next summer. Three other times the Olympics were canceled – and it took a world war for that to happen.

Ebola Epidemic Is Almost Over, but That Doesn’t Mean We Should Celebrate (19:49)

Guest: Trish Newport, Emergency Coordinator for the Ebola response in DRC, Doctors Without Borders

The Ebola epidemic may be almost over – the last patient with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was recently released. This outbreak has been going on since August 2018, with more than 3,000 cases and 2,000 deaths. Trish Newport’s not so sure we should celebrate – she says Ebola may be ending not because of international humanitarian efforts, but despite them.

Evidence to Impact (36:52)

Guest: Michael Donovan, Director of Policy and Outreach, Administrative Data Accelerator, Penn State University

The coronavirus pandemic is giving us a real-world look at the importance of academics and policymakers working together. Researchers at universities around the world are studying the virus and data of its spread. Government officials are making the decisions about what to shut down and where to send resources. Often there’s a disconnect between policymakers and academics, though.

Why Do Most New Virus Outbreaks Start in Asia and Africa? (50:38)

Guest: Suresh Kuchipudi, Professor of Virology, Penn State University

The virus that causes COVID-19 first emerged in China. Scientists believe it jumped from a bat to some other animal that was for sale in a live animal market, where it jumped into a human and began its global spread. That this virus emerged in Asia is not surprising. SARS, MERS, and Ebola all emerged in Asia and Africa.

Plastic Roads Provide a New Solution to Handling Waste (1:09:29)

Guest: Toby McCartney, Founder and CEO of MacRebur, The Plastic Roads Company

We’re in a plastic crisis. Not only is plastic ending up everywhere – in the ocean, in our food – but when we recycle in the US, it doesn’t always make a difference. A lot of recycling ends up in a landfill. Toby McCartney has a novel idea that could help – reusing plastic to make roads.

“Doomsday” Vault to Protect the Earth’s Food Supply (1:25:09)

Guest: Cary Fowler, Ph.D., Founder of the Svalbard Seed Vault and Author of the Book “Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault.”

I’m thinking a lot about contingency plans right now – as I’m sure you are. Times of crisis tend to steer our thoughts in that direction. More than a decade ago, plant scientist Cary Fowler came up with a contingency plan for the world’s crop diversity. The result is an underground vault on a Norwegian island not far from the North Pole. Inside are hundreds of millions of frozen seeds.