Worlds Apart

Revenge of revanche? Walden Bello, international adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton

Aesop’s fables implore us to be careful what we wish for, lest it come true. After four years of the insufferable Donald Trump, the Democrats are triumphantly returning to power, not only to the presidency but also to a Congress majority. Is it a reason for celebration or for concern? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Walden Bello, international adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton

Spoils of science? Frank von Hippel, Professor of Ecotoxicology at Northern Arizona University

George Bernard Shaw once said that science never solves a problem without creating ten more. Fast-forward ninety years, and that quip takes on a rather grim meaning, considering that, according to this week’s guest, there’s not a single uncontaminated square centimeter left on our planet. Have we reached the point when science does more harm than good? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Frank von Hippel, Professor of Ecotoxicology at Northern Arizona University and author of The Chemical Age: How Chemists Fought Famine and Disease, Killed Millions and Changed Our Relationship with the Earth.

Unbreakable China? Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World

We’ve all heard the adage that the Chinese word for “crisis” is composed of two characters, signifying danger and opportunity. While the story itself appears to be a misconception, it hasn’t stopped Beijing from pursuing this exact strategy, seeking silver or even gold linings in every cloud. Having confidently repelled the Covid-19 downturn, China is set to be the only major economy to register growth this year — much to the envy of its rival America. If Donald Trump hasn’t managed to stop China, can Joe Biden do it? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Martin Jacques, former Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University and author of When China Rules the World.

Evolved stupidity? Gad Saad, professor of Marketing at Concordia University

Gad Saad likes to say that it takes intellectuals to come up with really stupid ideas, ideas that then spread across society like parasites, draining the host organism and making it behave in strange or even self-endangering ways. From identity politics to cancel culture to the emerging COVID-19 ideology – how do seemingly noble ideas go toxic? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Gad Saad, Professor of Marketing at Concordia University and author of the newly released book The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas are Killing Common Sense.

Much about nothing? Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law and practice

If there’s one area where Donald Trump will leave a lasting mark, it’s in the Middle East. Under his leadership, US policy has shed its last pretenses of balance or law-abidance, coming out as unabashedly pro-Israel. And while the Democrats have spared no means ridiculing and condemning Trump’s legacy, are they likely to correct the course? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law and practice and former UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

Saving lives, losing people? David Livermore, professor of medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia

Most of us are used to starting our days with the latest stats on the number of Covid-19 victims without realizing that these figures, as accurate as they may be in a mathematical sense, can also be misleading in an epidemiological sense. Does the current strategy of slowing the spread of the pandemic necessarily mean fewer lives lost overall? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by David Livermore, professor of medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia.