As the US reckons with systemic racism and a less-than-democratic past, China is doubling down on its authoritarian ways. Meanwhile, research on the health of democracy from across the globe indicates the patient is not well.

In episode five of the third season of "Things That Go Boom," our partner podcast from PRX, host Laicie Heeley traces China’s rise from the 1990s, when American pop music held a place alongside patriotic education, to its more recent political assertiveness — not to mention its chokehold on civil rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. As China moves to assert itself on the world stage, is democracy losing?

Guests:

In a reversal, the Trump administration has abandoned a plan to strip international students of their visas if their coursework is entirely online. And, former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the US presidential race, outlined a climate plan on Tuesday that would spend $2 trillion over four years investing in clean-energy infrastructure. Plus, at the International Ninja Research Center, students learn ancient espionage tactics from feudal Japan — and unlearn all the bad history they may have picked up from movies and video games.

Contracting the coronavirus doesn't mean you're immune to catching it again, according to a new study from King's College London. And, the British government has banned Huawei from the county’s future 5G network. Also, the anonymous street artist, Banksy, has entered the mask debate with his latest work — a series of stencils on London's Underground that features his trademark rats struggling to come to terms with surgical masks.

Students in the city of Mosul, Iraq, saw their education come to a stop when ISIS took over their city three years ago. US and Iraqi troops liberated the city, but reconstruction has been painfully slow. Meanwhile, online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has proven difficult. And, an economic and military deal is reportedly in the works between Iran and China. What could this tell us about the effectiveness of US President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure strategy? Also, Washington, DC’s NFL team announced Monday that after a 10-day review process, the team name and logo will be changed.

After months of social distancing and lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, some countries are reopening. But fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections are concerning. As part of our regular series discussing the pandemic and as a special podcast in The World's feed, reporter Elana Gordon moderated a conversation with William Hanage, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

While the US struggles to contain its first surge of COVID-19, Melbourne, home to nearly 5 million Australians, is on its second lockdown. And, Canada’s ethics commissioner is looking into allegations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the country’s conflict of interest law over his ties to a children’s charity. Also, over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of anonymous letters have been traded in Medellín, Colombia, through a project called Love in the Time of Coronavirus — inspired by the famous Gabriel García Márquez novel.

The US Supreme Court weighed in Thursday on the question of presidential power. The justices decided 7-2 that President Donald Trump cannot block the release of his financial records to prosecutors in New York. And, Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics is under fire for polluting waters near its factory in Louisiana. Also, the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Japan has released a video telling people not to scream out loud to help prevent the spread coronavirus-carrying droplets. Instead, park officials are asking patrons to “please scream inside your heart.”

Are we in the middle of a new Cold War — or have we rewritten the game? With old nuclear arms treaties expiring and no new ones being signed, are we adapting to the times — or playing with fire?

In episode four of the third season of "Things That Go Boom," our partner podcast from PRX, host Laicie Heeley looks at the past and present of civil defense and nuclear arms control and asks what we can do — as individuals and as a nation — to prevent the existential threat of nuclear war.

Guests: Alex Wellerstein, professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology and historian of nuclear weapons; Alexandra Bell, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.

US colleges are bracing to lose many foreign students this fall after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued new guidelines that require international students in online-only courses to transfer schools or leave the country altogether. And the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has warned that its name and logo are being illegally emblazoned on false documents to facilitate a scam selling supposedly valuable statues in Mali and Cameroon. Also, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday a plan called "Eat Out to Help Out." During the month of August, people who dine-in at restaurants in the UK will receive 50% off their meal, excluding alcohol, with about a $13 limit per person.

After months of flouting the threat of the pandemic, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on live television that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is planning his first international diplomatic mission to Washington to celebrate the new US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. But his visit is generating tough questions back home. Plus, to celebrate his 85th birthday, the Dalai Lama has released an 11-track album called "Inner World" featuring mantras and teachings all set to a relaxing bed of music.