DAILY PODCASTS
23.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Media Coverage of the Coronavirus
It is considered that journalists must rely on scientific research and objectivity rather than their subjective opinion, thus their accurate coverage of different matters is debatable, especially nowadays, during the coronavirus pandemic.
The most problematic aspects of the media in the early weeks of the infection was that it does not pay so much attention to it and were more likely to report political news. Furthermore, numerous newspapers and major networks although covering many things in the world, do not pay enough respect to global health.
The podcast advises media to be very careful when choosing the words to report the number of cases because they can lead to panicking. For example, the newspapers shouldn't rush with the information as they did at the beginning of the outbreak when Anthony Fauci (the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) said that the outbreak will last at least 12-18 months and so everyone somehow turned the information into "we will have a vaccine in 12 to 18 months".
Thus, journalists have a great impact on one's mentality, hence they should pay more attention to the words they are using while sharing a message.
24.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Islands
Despite island-nations' ability to use their geography as an advantage during the pandemic, while their economical consequences can be devastating. The podcast tells the story of a journalist who spent four years in Haiti, where he covered the 2010 earthquake and the cholera outbreak that followed, and presents his points of view regarding the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as much as regarding the previous major disasters.
He describes people's reactions on the island, during those two major disasters, as being very similar to the ones of people suffering from the current coronavirus pandemic, using the words "terror and confusion" to describe the feeling encountered. Moreover, he explains how both the WHO and the UN did not handle the situation very well during the cholera outbreak and there were several rumours that linked the pandemic to the former 2010 earthquake which was also devastating.
Furthermore, they makea brief analysis of the Ireland islands, which have a highly-developed economy, in contrast to remote Scottish islands which lack testing kits or ventilators. It is considered that, due to their geographical advantages, islands in the South Pacific implemented strict measures in the early days of the outbreak to keep the coronavirus out. However, such measures can also devastate the tourism-reliant economies of countries like Papua New Guinea, Fiji or Vanuatu, hence the situation itself is complicated and a wrong decision can bring with it dismal concequences.
25.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: An Unlikely Success Story
Georgia has managed to deal well with the novel coronavirus crisis despite having to face numerous other political problems and challenges. The Georgian government took extreme measures before most countries worldwide. including closing the schools, closing the borders to the neigbouring countries since the end of February,
The community transmission has only started a few days ago and, until that moment, every case was tracked down. At the moment they have only 66 confirmed cases and, due to the large bio-lab they have, the testing procedures are very fast and the results are coming really fast. Another difference between Georgia and the western countries is that all the shop-rush and insanity that has been going on for the last few weeks has not happened yet, as many areas and neighbourhoods are or are going to be locked down.
However, the greatest problem with these lockdowns is that the local currency suffered a lot and there is an economical disaster because more and more people are left without jobs. Their economy is very dependable on tourism. Moreover, in comparison to the United States, the issue of the pandemic was not politicised and this really helped, and this has happened most probably because the Georgians are used to wars and difficult times.
26.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: The Border
A great number of migrants and people searching for asylums living in an encampment just across the U.S. border in Matamoros, Mexico, are desperately getting ready for the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has already bring so much terror into the world.
From a scientifical point of view, the virus is likely to spread rapidly in the crowded camp, where opportunities to self-isolate are limited. Preventively, there are hospitals being set up at the camp by the Global Response Management, a humanitarian organization.
However, taking in consideration the fact that the organization's possibilty to isolation is highly limited, it is almost impossible for them to be able to stop the spread of the virus, hence the worst is yet to come for the people leaving in those regions.
27.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Tokyo Olympics Postponed
The European Football Championship, The UEFA Champions League, The English Premier League, the NBA, the Boston Marathon, and now the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are just some of the sporting events to be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On this podcast, Mackinnon and James Palmer take a look ahead to a year without sports. They are joined by William Sposato, a Foreign Policy contributor based in Tokyo, to talk about the Japanese response to the pandemic and the decision to cancel the Olympics. The Japanese government is very strict about testing, and some say they try to cover up the real number of coronavirus cases. People do not seem to be changing their routine very much despite the risks. On the other hand, they are very cautious about personal hygiene: washing hands, wearing masks and gloves, social-distancing.
Even though this decision of cancelling the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is very upsetting for the fans, it is considered to be the right decision for their safety.
30.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Iceland
The podcast presents the fact that Iceland provides a rich opportunity of studying the virus, as it has one of the highest per capita rates of coronavirus infections of any country in the world. Habitually, taking in consideration the fact that their population is so small, with only 360.000 inhabitans, that it usually makes them win every "per capita" competition. Thus, they also win at the coronavirus testing per capita "competition".
Firstly, a brief description of DeCODE genetics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavík, is realised. The company helped undertake tests and give clear statistics of the number of the people infected. Moreover, they are considered to be valuable research for the whole world, as they manage to unravel various useful information. For example, they used some virus strains which showed each person what country he came from, and also used the strains to compare them and notice the differences between them.
Secondly, people living in Iceland have real faith in the goverment, which has made sure that every coronavirus-suspect had already been in quarantine before their tests proved positive, therefore preventing the virus from spreading. However, their measures are similiar to the ones taken in most countries worldwide. Furthermore, they have a high level of confidence in their healthcare system, which provides enough space and medical staff to treat all the patients, henceforth, even if the country is very affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that everything is under control.
31.03.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Autocrats
It is considered that authoritarian leaders are using the pandemic as an excuse to crack down and to boost their power, as it is the best pretext for them to grab as much political influence as possible. The podcast presents Amy Mackinnon's points of view regarding this situation and implicitly, regarding some leaders in Eastern Europe and Asia who are becoming authoritarian in their fight against the coronavirus. Moreover, Mackinnon is joined by Daniel Balson, the advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International USA.
They explain how in Euroasia, authorities have responded to the crisis by doubling down on the things that made them authoritarian in the very first place, a response which brought with it many negative concequences.
All in all, speaking of democratic authoritarianism, coronvairus willl not always represent the kind of threat that is today, but all these structural changes and political movements that are happening in Euroasia may be well declared permanent or at least dominant for a long period of time from now.
01.04.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Trauma
The podcast explains how much of a psychological toll the pandemic could cause and how different people handle the situation and respond to the collective trauma, as each and every person, no matter where they are from, is impacted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
In comparison to other kind of traumas, such as crimes, shooting or car accidents, this pandemic is compared to the one at Chernobyl's liquidators. In both sitations, the outcome had been completely unpredictable and the conseqeunces unknown. Moreover, the fact that people then did not know how the radiations would negatively affect their bodies is similar to the current situation, as the real impacts of the coronavirus on our heath are unclear for us. Furthermore, it is explained to us how the PTSD inflicted by the pandemic will hit us on the long-term and how we can fight that outcome.
In the end, we have to be aware of the fact that overall, this pandemic is a collective trauma, as we are all in this together.
02.04.2020
Don't Touch Your Face: Breakaway States and the Pandemic
In today's podcast a brief description of the frozen conflicts between the South Caucasus and how they could become a global Achilles's heel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the beginning of the podcast, the both the current state of Caucasus and their reputation are presented. and an analyst with the International Crisis Group explains the poor quality of health-care in several Euroasian regions and their need for medical supplies. Many examples of political issues which have to be encountered during the outbreak are given, such as some elections that had a huge turnout, that resulted in people remaining without aid, which is an outrageous disadvantage.
Futhermore, it is considered that the authorities do not do a great job of conveying the message of the virus, hence that is the main cause of its capacity of spreading and terribly affecting the vulnerable people.
Thus, in order to defeat the virus, we need good preventive measures to be applied by the authorities, as only in this way we can stop this pandemic.