News January 20, 2021

News Stories

• Use Rule 105 to boost your performance at work

  SPEAKER: Josh Linkner

  (Detroit Free Press) – Challenge yourself to add a small dose of something extra, and you’ll enjoy oversized success as a result.

• Annie Leibovitz Photographs Naomi Osaka for January’s American Vogue

  SPEAKER: Annie Leibovitz

  (Vogue) – Osaka posing in a slip dress during an outdoor cover shoot with photographer Annie Leibovitz.

• America Will Achieve Herd Immunity to Trumpism. I Hope.

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg) – Pandemics have always bred political lunacy, but societies develop resistance to both.

• Biden’s Covid vaccine distribution plan still in flux days before inauguration

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (WRAL) – “We could vaccinate everyone in this country and still have a real problem with coronavirus…”

• Cool Heads Always Prevail

  SPEAKER: Allen West

  (San Angelo Live) – At this tumultuous time in our American history, I must reiterate this leadership maxim: “Cool Heads Always Prevail.”

• Henry Paulson Returns to Finance, to Run Climate-Focused Fund

  SPEAKER: Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

  (NYT) – The venture aims to push climate-friendly businesses into the mainstream.

• What’s really on the ballot in Georgia

  SPEAKER: Alice Stewart

  (CNN) – President Donald Trump spent more time addressing his election grievances than encouraging election turnout.

• Corporate Debt ‘Relief’ Is an Economic Dud

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (WSJ) – Most companies benefiting from the Fed’s bond buys didn’t need the cash, and didn’t spend it well either.

• South African Covid variant appears to ‘obviate’ antibody drugs, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – “The South Africa variant is very concerning right now because it does appear that it may obviate some of our medical countermeasures…”

• Memory fades as we age. But it doesn’t have to.

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – I have to invest in my brain now to ensure that it stays sharp into ripe old age, even if my body starts to betray me.

• Trump Crosses a Bright-Red Line

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – The president’s nonstop abuse of power seems determined to force a reckoning.

• Scott Gottlieb discusses coronavirus on “Face the Nation,” December 27, 2020

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – “But the idea that we’re going to get to 20 million vaccines, vaccinations by the end of the year, that’s probably unrealistic at this point.”

• Meeting the Challenge in Asia

  SPEAKER: Evan Feigenbaum

  (National Interest) – To succeed in Asia, President-elect Joe Biden will need an administration that whines less, competes more, and leverages American strengths in the Asia that actually exists, not the one of its wishes, dreams, and fantasies.

• Scott Gottlieb discusses coronavirus on “Face the Nation,” December 20, 2020

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – “It does seem to be the case that we’re on track probably to peak in terms of the number of infections somewhere around the first week in January.”

• Getting Vaccinated Against COVID-19 is Like PPE at a Molecular Level

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us behind the scenes with him as he gets the coronavirus vaccine at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

• Veteran diplomat Evan Feigenbaum on U.S. policy in a changing Asia

  SPEAKER: Evan Feigenbaum

  (supchina) – “…the securitization of the US-China relationship, in particular the securitization of commercial flows…”

• Lead vaccine developer says she wants to help rebuild trust brick by brick

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – According to the same poll, only 62% of Black respondents answered they would be willing to get a vaccine, up from 50% in September.

• Gingrich among Trump loyalists named to Pentagon advisory board

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Politico) – The appointments to the panel come following a similar purge and replacement at the Defense Business Board.

• How the White House Followed the Science to Enable a Quick Vaccine

  SPEAKER: Joseph Grogan

  (Newsweek) – As new vaccines enter the market, it is hard to think of a public program that has yielded a larger return so quickly for our country and the world than President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed.

• China Wants to Be the World’s Banker

  SPEAKER: Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

  (Wall Street Journal) – The U.S. is in danger of losing its dominant leadership position in global financial services.

• If the United States were my patient: Science cannot rescue us from ourselves

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Our human spirit has made us innovative, creative, resourceful and tenacious enough to see this dream of a vaccine bear fruit. But it’s our human behavior and biological reflexes that will dictate how deep our wounds ultimately go. No amount of science can rescue us from ourselves.

• Dave Brubeck, Beyond ‘Take Five’

  SPEAKER: John Edward Hasse

  (WSJ) – Born 100 years ago, the pianist and composer found immense success melding musical classicism with polyrhythmic experiment.

• There Is No Trumpism Without Trump

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – The Republican Party now has two paths forward.

• Biden Faces Immediate Tests in Asia

  SPEAKER: Evan Feigenbaum

  (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) – Trump toughened America’s approach to China, but his administration was long on attitude and short on strategy. Many Asian governments want a more systematic approach from Biden.

• Why federal student loans need new protections on debt collection

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – We do not allow banks to extend and pretend loan obligations that are clearly unaffordable to the borrowers. We should at least ask the same of our government.

• Newt Gingrich: Harris vs. Pence vice presidential debate – Get ready for a truly historic encounter

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – The stage is set for a truly historic encounter

• A Craving for Normalcy Spells the End of a Populist Presidency

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg) – There are nine reasons Trump may still win, but none seems likely.

• Trump Can Take Credit for Vaccine Progress but Shouldn’t Rush It

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The FDA balances benefits with safety risks, and interference makes Americans nervous.

• 5 Common Coronavirus Misconceptions and the Science You Need to Know

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Since the beginning of 2020, when we first started hearing about a new coronavirus, eventually dubbed SARS-CoV-2, our understanding of what it is, how it infects people, who it infects and how we can protect ourselves have all evolved as our knowledge has grown.

• You Can Trust the FDA’s Vaccine Process

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Wall Street Journal) – The agency can roll out a Covid shot safely, quickly and without bowing to political pressure.

• VP’s chief of staff on Supreme Court announcement: ‘I don’t think it will take us long’

  SPEAKER: Marc Short

  (CNN) – “The reality is that this is the President’s obligation to make a nomination, he’ll do so and he’ll do so in the near future.”

• How ‘Emergency Use’ Can Help Roll Out a Covid Vaccine

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The FDA can approve a promising candidate for those most at risk while continuing to collect data.

• What Islamists and ‘Wokeists’ Have in Common

  SPEAKER: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Adherents of both pursue ideological purity, refuse to engage in debate and demand submission.

• Dr. Gottlieb: Vaccine For General Population Unlikely By This Year

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (MSNBC) – Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb weighs in on the suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine trial, the likelihood of a vaccine for the general public this year and what he expects from the coming flu season. 

• Dr. Gupta breaks down the effects of convalescent plasma

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a deeper look at the data and explains why controlled randomized trials are still necessary to fully understand the effectiveness of convalescent plasma. 

• Asia’s Future Beyond U.S.-China Competition

  SPEAKER: Evan Feigenbaum

  (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) – Beijing and Washington are competing to set Asia’s rules, norms, and standards. But other countries in the region are increasingly choosing to shape its future themselves.

• ‘Weimar America’? The Trump Show Is No Cabaret

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg Opinion) – Detractors have been equating the U.S. with 1920s Germany for 85 years, and they are still wrong.

• Republicans should campaign hard for votes of immigrants like me who are US citizens

  SPEAKER: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  (Fox News) – The Republican Party has not done enough to win a significant share of our votes

• Search for coronavirus vaccine is making important progress

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – It seems we’ll get a vaccine sometime next year at the latest

• On foreign policy, a call to ditch the grim worldview and reawaken idealism

  SPEAKER: Robert Zoellick

  (The Washington Post) – Imagine, an account by a GOP foreign policy insider that is both momentous and readable, literate and witty; that throws darts and settles scores subtly; and that does not leave the reader with a lower opinion of absolutely everyone involved.

• I Crossed Back Into a State of Denial

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – At the Canada-U.S. border, I encountered a study in contrasts.

• Sweden Shouldn’t Be America’s Pandemic Model

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The Swedes aren’t close to reaching herd immunity. We need to continue to contain the virus spread.

• From Near Death With Chatbots To New Life In E-Commerce, Octane AI Raises $4.25 Million

  SPEAKER: Ben Parr

  (Forbes) – A startup that builds conversational commerce tools for brands has raised $4.25 million to help build its presence in the growing world of e-commerce.

• Betting on Better Drug Trials to Beat Covid-19

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Studies are competing for too few patients. It’s time to direct resources toward the most promising therapies.

• Chaos at home and threats abroad can be better dealt with by studying Eisenhower

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Few people provide a better model of leadership for our current moment then President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

• Why I am not sending my kids back to school

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – One of the questions I am getting more than any other: Am I going to send my children back to school? As a father of three teen and preteen girls, this has been a constant discussion in our household, and it hasn’t been easy.

• What Biden needs to understand about Prophet Muhammad saying he used at Muslim voter event

  SPEAKER: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  (Fox News) – I would strongly advise the Biden camp to reach out to Muslim reformers and progressive dissidents to formulate a better strategy

• TikTok Is Inane. China’s Imperial Ambition Is Not.

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg Opinion) – The U.S. won the Cold War by exporting its values, and China has a similar plan for Cold War II.

• Susan Rice is the VP Biden needs

  SPEAKER: Jen Psaki

  (CNN) – Joe Biden has a high-class problem. He has a short list of highly qualified women, who would all serve as excellent running mates.

• The Danger of Allowing Banks to Artificially Boost Capital Ratios

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Ironically, big bank lobbyists are now using the Covid-19 crisis to undo those very reforms, cynically claiming deregulation will help banks support the real economy.