At the start of 2020, the world first became aware of COVID-19. This show looks at what we have learned about the global pandemic since then. 

In early February, Richard spoke face-to-face with epidemiologist Kylie Carlville of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, during a visit to Melbourne, Australia. This recording was made just as scientists were beginning to understand the nature of the outbreak and before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

In the spring, we interviewed Samson Ellis of Bloomberg News about Taiwan's remarkable success in fighting the spread of the virus. In late December, the number of deaths in Taiwan from COVID was 7, with only 766 recorded cases. Total US cases were more than 18 million.

In June, oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, explained the global lessons to be learned from the crisis. He wrote the recently published book, “Which Country Has the World’s Best Healthcare?”

This episode also includes practical lessons about public healthcare from physician and CEO Doctor Vivian Lee. And we went in pursuit of wisdom and discovery with journalist  Eric Weiner, author of the new book, “The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons From Dead Philosophers". We discuss what ancient philosophy can teach us about living in a time of hardship.

Recommendations: Richard's favorite book of 2020 was "Apeirogon", a novel by Irish writer, Colum McCann and the Netflix comedy series "Call My Agent." Jim recommends the subscription site substack.com, a site for independent thinkers who write newsletters on a wide range of topics.