If the Covid pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the government's response to a global health emergency can mean the difference between living and dying.

America's woeful performance in recent months has exposed how far we have fallen behind public health systems in much of Asia. While China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore combined have recorded fewer than 1,000 cases per day since September, the U.S. is reporting over 60,000 daily cases.

Our guest is Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist, and co-author of "The Wake Up Call: Why the Pandemic Has Exposed the Weakness of the West and How to Fix It."

"We need to have a much more efficient government that is collectively valued by society," says Adrian. He argues that it's time to make government great again. In this episode, we discuss steps to improve government's use of technology and delivery of services while protecting individual liberty.

Recommendation: Jim is listening to the podcast "50 Years of Music With 50 Year-Old White Guys"note: Here's a link to new developments in music podcasts, mentioned during this episode.