News Items Podcast with John Ellis – Détails, épisodes et analyse

John interviews Adam Tooze, a historian, the author of five books on economic history, and a professor at Columbia University, where he is the director of the interdisciplinary European Institute. Adam also writes a newsletter, “Chartbook,” which in its own words, reports on "economic data, images, stories that matter."

Adam’s two latest books deal with the major economic crises of the past two decades. “Crashed” looks back at the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, and explains both its causes and the rescue plan that got us out of it – though not without eroding democracies around the world. The newly-released “Shutdown” analyzes the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the world economy.

John and Adam talk about both crises, their differences, and the mystical workings of the repo market.

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John interviews Steve Coll, a staff writer at The New Yorker, the dean of the Columbia Journalism School, the author of eight books, and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. 

Between 1989 and 1992, he worked as The Washington Post's South Asia bureau chief. That experience ultimately led him to write two books on Afghanistan and Pakistan (with a third on the way).

The first, “Ghost Wars,” won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. It chronicles the C.I.A.'s secret wars in Afghanistan and how these fueled the founding of Al Qaeda. The second, “Directorate S,” focuses on the Pentagon and C.I.A.’s struggles with the eponymous, secretive branch of the Pakistani intelligence service that supported the Afghan Taliban.

John and Steve discuss both books and the intense research they required; the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan; and Steve’s plans for a third book on the subject.

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John interviews Tim Higgins. Tim is a tech reporter at The Wall Street Journal, a regular CNBC contributor, and the author of “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century.” 

The book chronicles Tesla’s multiple near-death experiences and shows how it came to symbolize the electric car and, ultimately, grew into the largest automaker in the world by market value. However, Tim says, “this isn't the story of Elon Musk,” and the book reports on many of the other figures that give Tesla its edge.

John and Tim discuss Musk’s penchant for bold moves (good and bad); Tesla’s true competitors; and the recently opened federal investigation into the company’s self-driving tech.

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Here are the news items:

• The head of the World Health Organization calls for further investigation into the possibility that the coronavirus escaped from a laboratory in China.
• China is considering establishing a whole new stock exchange, in part to attract foreign companies like Apple and Tesla.
• With Europe's vaccine rollout in shambles, some leaders are talking about importing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
• One of the world’s biggest smartphone companies is investing $10 billion in a new electric car business.
• Scientists have found the coldest natural temperature ever measured on planet Earth.

PLUS: An interview with Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, about the Times’ business model and the future of the paper.

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Here are the news items:

• President Biden has tasked V.P. Harris with fixing the crisis on the southern border, and it's a politically fraught assignment.
• Natural gas frackers are getting in on Bitcoin mining.
• For the first time, fewer than half of Americans say they belong to a house of worship.
• Facebook plans to build submarine cables connecting North America, Indonesia, and Singapore.
• Vaccine reluctance is fading.

PLUS: John and Rebecca discuss Archegos, the multibillion-dollar family office that's rattled Wall Street in the last week, and the risks and regulations associated with these kinds of funds.

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Ninety percent of the news out there tells you nothing about where the world is going — ten percent of it tells you everything. On the News Items Podcast with John Ellis, John and Rebecca Darst dissect news items that help you understand where the world is going. Tune in every Monday through Thursday afternoon to hear decades of journalistic experience packed into 20 of minutes insight, plus guest interviews on finance, U.S. politics, foreign affairs, science and technology.

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John interviews A.I. scientist Rosalind Picard. Rosalind is a pioneer in the field of affective computing, the co-founder of two companies at the forefront of A.I., Affectica and Empatica, and the founder and director of the affective computing research group at the MIT Media Lab. 

Affective computing aims to close the emotional gap between computers and their users. As Rosalind wrote in her book “Affective Computing,” published in 1997, “if we want computers to be genuinely intelligent, to adapt to us, and to interact naturally with us, then they will need the ability to recognize and express emotions.” 

John and Rosalind talk about the limits and applications of affective computing, and how wearable technology could change health care as we know it.

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John interviews Lisa Bryant, the director and executive producer of the Netflix docuseries “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.” In the second episode of this two-part conversation, John and Lisa discuss Epstein’s suspicious death in a jail cell in 2019, as he awaited trial — and the curious story of his alleged co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is set to go on trial in November.

Part one of the conversation aired yesterday.

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John interviews Lisa Bryant, the director and executive producer of the Netflix docuseries “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.” In the first episode of this two-part conversation, John and Lisa discuss the making of the series; Epstein’s background and wealth; and how he rubbed elbows with (and ensnared) powerful people. John also asks Lisa about Epstein’s first conviction in 2008, and how a “sweetheart deal” allowed him to step out of jail for 12 hours a day, six days a week. 

Part two of the conversation, which airs tomorrow, delves into Epstein’s death in 2019 as he awaited trial in a second case — and the curious story of his alleged co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is set to go on trial later this year.

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John interviews Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, a bestselling author and an adjunct senior fellow for women and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

John and Gayle discuss her newest book, “The Daughters of Kobani,” which tells the story of the all-female Kurdish militia that helped defeat ISIS in Syria. They also talk about Afghanistan, and what the Taliban’s victory could mean for both the Biden administration and Afghanistan's neighbors. (This interview was conducted before the fall of Kabul.)

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