The Economist Discussion Meeting (EDM)01

The Economist Discussion Meeting (EDM)
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The World Clock Meeting Planner – Results

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The Economist Discussion Meeting (EDM)02

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1. 2023/04/15(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/04/16(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①How to fix the International Monetary Fund
②The IMF faces a nightmarish identity crisis.
③What is responsible cyber power?
④Stocks have shrugged off the banking turmoil. Haven’t they?
⑤Why economics does not understand business?
⑥Icy moons with vast oceans are the latest candidates for alien life.

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How to fix the International Monetary Fund

How to fix the International Monetary Fund

 Leaders | A frail financial firefighter
How to fix the International Monetary Fund
The fund must get tough on obstructive creditors, but save them a seat at the table.
 
DP1: It is said that since its founding in 1944, the IMF faces an identity crisis. Why is that?
DP2: IT is said that the Fund is paralyzed because it is both a multilateral institution that seeks to represent the entire world and a club dominated by the US and its Western allies. What does it mean?
DP3: When the IMF was first established, its primary role was to promote balanced trade and manage the fixed exchange rates of the Bretton Woods system. Why did it shift its focus to another mission, providing emergency funds with strings attached to countries in crisis?
DP4: It is said that the main problem is that China has become a major creditor to the poorest countries. What is that?
DP5: Since the crisis began, the IMF has not supervised a single write-down involving China. Why is that?
DP6: It is said that the U.S. is worried that IMF funds will flow into China's pockets, many loans have been approved, but most are contingent on restructuring that has not been agreed upon, these trends risk rendering the IMF useless. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP7: It is said that the fund must get tough on obstructive creditors but save them a seat at the table. What does it mean?

The IMF faces a nightmarish identity crisis.

The IMF faces a nightmarish identity crisis

 Finance & economics | Trouble on 19th Street
The IMF faces a nightmarish identity crisis.
The fund is caught between America and China, and its purpose is unclear
 
DP1: Despite its enormous financial resources, the IMF has increased its outstanding loans by only $51 billion since Covid-19 began to spread, three factors have contributed to the weakening of the IMF. What are the three factors?
DP2: It is said that China has two main objections to the IMF's approach.
What are these?
DP3: It is said that one way to get the fund moving again is the "arrears intra-arrears lending" policy, first used after Russia boycotted Ukraine's debt restructuring in 2015. What are these?
DP4: What is the best idea that could reshape the IMF?
DP5: It was thought that the Fund could impose the "Washington Consensus" on inept governments with the stroke of a pen.
Why is it not working now?
DP6: It is said that the IMF is now at its worst. Why is that?
DP7: It is said that the IMF announced its Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which will provide $40 billion to countries to be used for long-term climate and health projects, but turning the IMF into the World Bank is not going to work.  Why is it not working? What are the different roles between the IMF and the World Bank?
DP8: It is said that it is difficult for the IMF to become a clone of the World Bank, so it will have to choose two paths. What are these?
DP9: It is said that the Fund needs to be scaled back because demand for emergency loans is declining. Why is the demand for emergency loans declining?
DP10: It is said that IMF did not have to face squarely the contradiction of being a U.S.-born and U.S.-led institution that viewed itself as the property of all nations, yet it appears impossible to escape that contradiction.
What does it mean?

What is responsible cyber power?

What is a responsible cyber power?

Leaders | Rules of the code
What is responsible cyber power?
Britain’s principles for cyberwarfare are a good start.
 
DP1: What is responsible cyber power?  What are the differences between offensive cyber" (disrupting computer networks) and cyber espionage?
DP2: It is said that the new paper on UK's national cyber force (ncf) is important because it articulates a realistic and limited view of cyber power. It states that the primary purpose of cyber power is cognitive, not kinetic, a digital substitute for air strikes. What does it mean?
DP3: It is said that the UK example suggests several criteria for determining whether cyber power is being used responsibly. What are several criteria?
DP4: It is said that responsible cyber commanders need lawyers. Why is that?

Stocks have shrugged off the banking turmoil. Haven’t they?

Stocks have shrugged off the banking turmoil. Haven’t they?

Finance & economics | Buttonwood
Stocks have shrugged off the banking turmoil. Haven’t they?
Why the current buoyancy is deceptive.
 
DP1: What are different reactions to the bank failure this time and past?
What are the four reactions of the regulators to this risk at this time?
DP2: It is said that the happiest interpretation of these events is that the market in its wisdom decided that the crisis was over. Do you agree with this opinion?
DP3: It is said that Deducing investor psychology from market movements is more of an art than a science. What are three items that the investors are betting on in the current financial situation?

Why economics does not understand business.

Why economics does not understand business

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
Why economics does not understand business.
Dogma gets in the way.
 
DP1: It is said that Economics has a rich model of competition and markets. But its power still tends to wane once you get inside the factory gates and office buildings. What does it mean?
DP2: It is said that in a market transaction, goods are exchanged for money, the deal is done, and there is little room for contention. However, because of boundary rationality, it is impossible for a business to stipulate in advance everything that will be required of each party in every situation. Contracts between businesses and employees are necessarily "incomplete".
Do you believe that this is the reason why economics does not understand business?
DP3: What is the “principal-agent problem" in Economics?
DP4: It is said that Economics prides itself on being a fundamental discipline like physics, not a practical one like engineering. However, most of the factors that make a business successful cannot be captured in a rigorous theory with a few equations. Do you agree with this opinion?

Icy moons with vast oceans are the latest candidates for alien life.

Icy moons with vast oceans are the latest candidates for alien life

 Science & technology | Astrobiology
Icy moons with vast oceans are the latest candidates for alien life.
A new mission to Jupiter will examine three of them.
 
DP1: The subtle differences in the magnetic field provided an early clue to the presence of oceans, suggesting that there is a large mass of salt water or other conductive fluid beneath the surface, with improved measurements of the magnetic field, we can estimate how large the oceans are. Do you believe this assumption?
DP2: It is said that when it comes to life, water alone is not enough. Life is a self-organizing chemistry, and on Earth, it requires the use of several different elements in addition to the hydrogen and oxygen that make up water. (Common examples include carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.) How can we get these on planets in the Solar System?
DP3: It is said that assuming that gas planets in other star systems also have moons, the number of possible sites for life would increase dramatically in the galaxy. Do you believe this assumption?

It doesn’t take much to make machine-learning algorithms go awry.

It doesn’t take much to make machine-learning algorithms go awry

Science & technology | Digital poisons
It doesn’t take much to make machine-learning algorithms go awry.
The rise of large-language models could make the problem worse.
 
DP1: It is said that the algorithms underlying modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems require a lot of data to learn. Because much of this data is provided by the open web, it is, unfortunately, susceptible to a cyber-attack called data poisoning. What is data poisoning?
DP2: It is said that in theory, anyone with Internet access could be injected with digital poison. How can we avoid being injected with digital poison?
DP3: It is said that some data poisoning attacks may only degrade the overall performance of AI tools, more sophisticated attacks can elicit specific responses in the system. How do these attacks work?
DP4: It is said that such an attack would not be effective on a subject where there is a vast amount of data on the Internet. Why is that not working?
DP5: It is said that removing the poison from the training dataset requires companies to know which topics and tasks attackers are targeting. How do they operate to prevent the attacks?  What is the bottleneck of the operations?
DP6: It is said that this direct access to the Web opens up the possibility of another type of attack called indirect prompt injection. Protecting against such attacks can be an even greater challenge than keeping digital poison out of the learning data set. What is the best way to prevent this type of attack?
DP7: It is said that even if there were a way to sniff out every manipulated data point on the Web, perhaps the more vexing question is who defines what counts as digital poison. Who defines it?
DP8: It is said that no single entity can be the sole arbiter of what is fair and what is unfair in an AI. How can we deal with this issue?

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1. 2023/04/08(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/04/09(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①America risks propping up zombie banks.
②Will the recent banking chaos lead to an economic crash?
③Did social media cause the banking panic?
④China is now an unlikely safe haven.
⑤Big tech and the pursuit of AI dominance
⑥Copper is the missing ingredient of the energy transition.
⑦Why the China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase.
⑧Joe Biden attempts to defang the Chinese tiger.
⑨Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America.

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America risks propping up zombie banks.

America risks propping up zombie banks

Leaders | Undead finance
America risks propping up zombie banks.
The banking crisis may have calmed, but only because of a government backstop.

DP1: It is said that the market is calm, mainly because the federal government is backing the system. but the U.S. is far from solving the problems of small banks. Why is that?
DP2: It is said that preventing zombification requires rapid recognition of losses and the injection of new capital into banks. How do we calculate the safety buffers?
DP3: It is said that the worry is that even if long-term support is provided, some banks may not find a way to turn around and take big risks to revive themselves, effectively gambling with taxpayers' money. What is the best way to prevent such big risks?

Will the recent banking chaos lead to an economic crash?

Will the recent banking chaos lead to an economic crash?

 Finance & economics | Dime turners
Will the recent banking chaos lead to an economic crash?
So far, people seem remarkably blasé
 
DP1: It is said that people seem remarkably blasé even though there is a probability that the recent banking chaos led to an economic crash.
Why is that?
DP2: It is said that the economists have two concerns about the influences of the recent banking chaos. What are these?
DP3: It is said that this banking mess is not good news, but it will not send the global economy over the cliff. Why is that?

Did social media cause the banking panic?

Did social media cause the banking panic?

 Finance & economics | Buttonwood
Did social media cause the banking panic?
New technology does more than just speed up financial wobbles
 
DP1: It is said that the banking turmoil that has plunged one US and European financial institution after another into crisis over the past few weeks has taken on a new character. What are these characters?
DP2: It is said that historically, more recent technological innovations also have the potential to have a more profound impact and alter markets over the long term. What were the past impact and the present ones?
DP3: It is said that thanks to high transaction costs and low financial literacy among their customers, it may also become harder for banks to maintain the benefits they have enjoyed for decades or centuries. Do you believe so? If so, what should banks do to maintain the benefits?

China is now an unlikely safe haven.

China is now an unlikely safe haven

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
China is now an unlikely safe haven
The country’s financial risks are it is own. America’s quickly become everybody else’s, too
DP1: Could China provide a safe haven for global investors during a period of banking turmoil?
DP2: What kind of country risks that China has?
DP3: What are the banking vulnerabilities that exist in China?
DP4: It is said that China's financial risks are China's own, whereas those of the United States will soon be everyone else's, risks with Chinese characteristics may be slightly relieved from risks with global characteristics. Do you believe this opinion? If so, will you invest money in China?

Big tech and the pursuit of AI dominance

Big tech and the pursuit of AI dominance

 Business | Mastering the machine
Big tech and the pursuit of AI dominance
The tech giants are going all in on artificial intelligence. Each is doing it its own way
 
DP1: It is said that competition over ai is intensifying. And even before a winner emerges, this competition is changing how big tech deploys technology. What is the changing way that they deploy the technology?
DP2: It is said that tech giants have everything they need to succeed in the age of ai: data, computing power, and billions of users, the answer is a massive investment. What fields relating to AI are they investing in?
DP3: It is said that the large number of resources they are putting into this technology reflects their desire to avoid such a fate. Whether they succeed or not, one thing is sure: this is only the modest beginning of the AI revolution. What are the results of the AI Revolution?
DP4: Do you think there will come a time when humanity must recognize the human rights of AI robots?

Copper is the missing ingredient of the energy transition.

Copper is the missing ingredient of the energy transition

 Business | Schumpeter
Copper is the missing ingredient of the energy transition.
Where on Earth will it be found?
 
DP1: It is said that copper consumption shall double to 50 million tons between now and 2035, but supply will not catch up unless prices rise sharply. Why is that?
DP2: What are the differences and similarities between the oil business and the copper business?
DP3: What are two answers to where the growth of the Cooper business comes from?

Why the China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase.

Why the China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase

 Leaders | America v China
Why the China-US contest is entering a new and more dangerous phase.
Chinese officials rage at what they see as American bullying.
 
DP1: It is said that in commerce, they consider the U.S. containment of China to be unfair. Why is that?
DP2: It is said that if the U.S. adheres to the values of openness, equal treatment of all, and the rule of law, it will find it easier to maintain the loyalty of its allies. If so, why are they bullying China?
DP3: It is said that the U.S. believes that they are special, it never wants to acknowledge that there is another country, be it communist or democratic, with equal power to its own, the US will tolerate China only if China is obedient and is a "fat cat, not a tiger. Why do they believe like that?
DP4: It is said that given these two entrenched and contradictory worldviews, it is naive to think that peace can be guaranteed only by increased diplomacy. What should we do to solve this issue?

Joe Biden attempts to defang the Chinese tiger.

Joe Biden attempts to defang the Chinese tiger

 China | Chaguan
Joe Biden attempts to defang the Chinese tiger.
His policies stop short of full containment but are intolerable to China anyway.
 
DP1: It is said that China's growing economic and diplomatic influence in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is believed to empower dictators and undermine liberal democracies, the bipartisan consensus in Washington sees China as a predatory superpower, whose threatening nature cannot be changed by pious preaching.  Do you believe that is the reason why the U.S. strategy toward China is shifted into an attack?
DP2: It is said that America's new vision of coexistence is not quite total containment or total decoupling, but it does seek to rein in China's coercive power, whether Beijing's rulers like it or not. as a result, it seems inevitable that a fierce contest of strength will unfold over the next few years. After all, no tiger chooses to be neutered. Do you think Americans will be good managers of tigers? Or do you think they will be killed by the tiger?
DP3: It is said that no two big power holders with different values coexist with each other historically. What do you think the end of the battle between China and the United States will look like?

Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America.

Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America

 Europe | Charlemagne
Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America.
A Trumpian revival would leave Europe exposed.
 
DP1: It is said Europe is unprepared for what might come next in America.
What does it mean? Why is Europe unprepared for new foreign policy to the EU by a new president in the USA in 2024?
DP2: It is said that under Joe Biden, Europe's dependence on the U.S. has deepened. Who can protect the EU from Russian Attacks if Donald Trump is elected as the new president of the USA in 2024? NATO can protect the EU but it means the beginning of a world warⅢ. Do you believe that it might happen?
DP3: It is said that Europe has recognized that it needs to spend more on its own security. Belatedly, Germany and others have committed to doing so. But no one expects such a change to occur before the end of the next U.S. president's term. Thus, Europe will once again be subject to the whims of a superpower that will put European interests on the back burner. The European continent will try its best to make it to 2024.　Do you believe that Russia and China will start world war Ⅲ when Donald Trump is elected as the new president of the USA in 2024 because they notice the EU is not ready for world war Ⅲ?

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1. 2023/04/01(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/04/02(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Fusion power is coming back into fashion.
②How much longer will America’s regional banks hold up?
③America banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars.
④Why markets can never be made truly safe?
⑤The machinery, structure, and output of the British state need reform
⑥The world according to Xi

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Fusion power is coming back into fashion.

Fusion power is coming back into fashion

Science & technology | Private fusion
Fusion power is coming back into fashion.
This time it might even work.
DP1: It is said that six companies, plus 36 others certified by the Fusion Industry Association (FIA), an industry group in this field, hope to ride the green energy wave toward a carbon-free future. Why do they think so?
DP2: It is said that nuclear fusion requires either heat or pressure, or both. Why is that?
DP3: It is said that even in deuterium-tritium fusion, there are many ways to encourage nuclear assembly: by creating conditions known as the "Lawson criterion". What is the "Lawson criterion"?
DP4: It is said that one of the Fusion companies plans to use pressure as well as temperature to meet Lawson's criteria, an approach it calls magnetized target fusion. What are the details of the approach?
DP5: It is said that some of the 36 members of the FIA list, called "tails," are pushing the technological envelope in other ways. What are other ways?
DP6: It is said that the closest competitor to the tokamak, magnetic field reversal, and general fusion hydraulic designs is an approach called inertial fusion. What are the details of the approach?
DP7: It is said that one of the fusion companies is currently leading the way in inertial fusion, but the company’s approach is unusual, many other inertial fusion proponents plan to shock with lasers. What is an unusual approach?
DP8: It is said that many technical challenges of the fusion power remain. What are these?
DP9: It is said that so many different approaches are at least one reason for hope for fusion proponents, if one of them succeeds, fusion will go from an illusion to a reality. Do you support this comment under the concerns about financing by the increasing interest rate?

How much longer will America’s regional banks hold up?

How much longer will America’s regional banks hold up?

 Finance & economics | Don’t unleash the zombies.
How much longer will America’s regional banks hold up?
Despite the danger, policymakers must not intervene prematurely.

DP1: It is said that the recent story unfolding in the banking system is similar to the story in the 1980s. What story was unfolding in the banking system in the 1980s?
DP2: It is said that bank deposits tend to be stable and interest rate insensitive, a natural hedge against the long-term fixed-rate loans favored by banks. Do you believe that this explains why bank stock prices do not crash every time interest rates rise, but just as the market as a whole does?
DP3: It is said that banks suffering from deposit flight can turn to other financial institutions for liquidity or to the Fed's newly expanded lending program. What are the positive and negative impacts of this financial system?
DP4: It is said that Regional and community banks play an important role in the U.S. economy and are responsible for about half of all commercial lending in the country. Do you believe that this is the reason why U.S. officials guarantee the deposit balances of small and medium-sized banks so that they do not?
DP5: It is said that many of the insolvent financial institutions were allowed to continue operating to escape their losses, however, the problem only grew worse. these financial institutions then became known as zombies Can you accept this situation that Zombie banks lack capital, receive government support, and tend to have large amounts of bad loans?
DP6: It is said that the final bailout cost by taxpayers was five times comparing thrift losses in the US financial institution crisis of the 1980s because of the forgiving initial response of financial institutions facing losses. What are the appropriate next actions by the financial institutions to prevent having a real tragedy caused by allowing such zombie banks to play out again?

America’s banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars.

America’s banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
America’s banks are missing hundreds of billions of dollars.
How the Federal Reserve drained the financial system of deposits.

 DP1: It is said that when the bank went bankrupt, the total deposits in the banking system are not reduced because the regulators promised to bail out, but over the past year, commercial bank deposits have declined by nearly 3%. Where will that money go?
DP2: It is said that the inflow of funds into a money market fund should move deposits within the banking system, rather than driving them out of the banking system. Why were the deposits moved out of the banking system?
DP3: It is said that there is one obscure way that money market funds could siphon deposits out of the banking system: the Federal Reserve's reverse repo system, which was introduced in 2013, it could cause serious instability in the banking system in a decade. What is the Federal Reserve's reverse repo system? Why was this system introduced?
DP4: It is said that the Fed's operations of the regulation change money flow from the bank to Money Market and Fed. Do you believe that the Fed's operations of the regulation were appropriate?
DP5: It is said that money market funds deposited with the Fed through reverse repos, outside the banking system, surged by half a trillion dollars because of the raise of interest rate on overnight reverse repo transactions from 0.05% to 4.8% by the Fed. Do you believe that this is the way the Federal Reserve drained the financial system of deposits? Do you believe that this Fed's operations were appropriate?
DP6: It is said that it is more advantageous to deposit money in a repo facility than to keep it in a bank. Not only is the yield considerably higher, but they don't have to worry about the Fed going bankrupt. Money market funds could effectively become "narrow banks" - institutions that support consumer deposits with central bank reserves rather than higher-return but riskier assets. Narrow banks cannot lend to businesses or make mortgages. Nor can they fail. What is the best way to return the consumer deposit from Narrow banks to the banking system?
DP7: It is said that when the reverse repo facility was established, there was concern that it could lead to "disintermediation of the financial system. during a financial crisis, funds could flow out of risk assets and onto the Fed's balance sheet, exacerbating instability. If so, why was the reverse repo facility established by Fed?

Why markets can never be made truly safe.

Why markets can never be made truly safe

 Finance & economics | Buttonwood
Why markets can never be made truly safe.
In seeking to prevent a crisis, officials may have planted the seeds of the next one.

DP1: Why can markets never be made truly safe? It is said that in seeking to prevent a crisis, officials may have planted the seeds of the next one. What does it mean?
DP2: It is said that the cause of the Silicon Valley bank's collapse is the rapid decline in the value of the assets that the bankers believed were solid: long-term mortgages and Treasury bonds. Why could Fed not save this bank?
DP3: It is said that the credit default swaps were used to prevent an actual default on mortgage-backed securities in the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 saw an explosion of collateralized lending, driven by the belief that the safety of the U.S. mortgage market was unassailable. Do you believe that Japan cannot prevent actual default because they do not have a credit default swaps system?
DP4: It is said that crises do more than reveal where collateral was misjudged to be safe. central banks could offer private financial institutions the idea of functioning as lenders of last resort on sound collateral in response to the panic triggered by the collapse of the London wholesale bank in 1866. Do you believe that the daily swap lines that the Fed recently reintroduced work to prevent a crisis currently?
DP5: It is said that the Fed's "bank regular funding program," introduced after the collapse of svb, was the first innovation in collateral policy during the current financial turmoil. How does this program work to prevent the crisis currently?
DP6: It is said that this system has the potential to change the understanding of collateral that has accumulated over the past 150 years. Policymakers who sought to make the financial system safer by removing the risk of a collapse may have done the exact opposite in the long run. What does it mean? What is inconsistent about this program when they apply to the daily swap lines system?

The machinery, structure, and output of the British state need reform

The machinery, structure and output of the British state need reform

 Leaders | Not like that, minister
The machinery, structure, and output of the British state need reform
From productivity to public services, the case for change is clear

DP1: It is said that the first issue concerns government structures in the UK. What is this issue? What is the best strategy to deal with these issues?
DP2: It is said that the second issue concerns productivity in the UK.
What is this issue? What is the best strategy to deal with these issues?
DP3 It is said that the third issue concerns the state of public services in the UK. What is this issue? What is the best strategy to deal with these issues?
DP4: It is said that the good news beyond Humphrey is that these issues are more manageable than they appear. Why is that? How do they manage these issues?

The world according to Xi

The world according to Xi

 Leaders | China’s foreign policy
The world according to Xi
Even if China’s transactional diplomacy brings some gains, it contains real perils

DP1: It is said that the world according to Xi, even if China’s transactional diplomacy brings some gains, contains real perils. What does it mean?
DP2: It is said that in 1945, the United States had the great insight that it could make itself more secure by being bound by enduring alliances and common rules. This idealistic vision has been undermined by decades of contact with reality, including Iraq. What is the ideal role of the United States and China in the world?
DP3: What is the ideal role of the United Nations to deal with global issues?

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1. 2023/03/25(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/03/26(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①What’s wrong with the banks?
②How deep is the rot in America’s banking industry?
③The Fed smothers capitalism in an attempt to save it.
④A battle royal is brewing over copyright and AI
⑤Europe has led the global charge against big tech. But does it need a new approach?
⑥Why America is going to look more like Texas
⑦Will Bibi break Israel?

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What’s wrong with the banks?

What’s wrong with the banks

Leaders | The financial system
What’s wrong with the banks?
Rising interest rates have left banks exposed. Time to fix the system—again
 
DP1: What was the cause of the financial crisis of 2007-2009? What was the solution to prevent such a crisis?
DP2: What is wrong with banks and Fed in the present financial system?
What are two significant problems in the present financial system?
DP3: It is said that the emergency program is supposed to last only one year, regulators must therefore use the coming year to make the system safer. What should the regulators do to make the system safer?
DP4: It is said that bankers will not like the idea of more capital buffers and rulemaking, but there is much to be gained from safety. What tool can they apply to find the appropriate capital buffers? What is additional rulemaking to deal with unknown potential risks in the present financial system?

How deep is the rot in America’s banking industry?

How deep is the rot in America’s banking industry?

 Finance & economics | The prop-up job
How deep is the rot in America’s banking industry?
Silicon Valley Bank may be the start of something grimmer.
 
 
DP1: It is said that banking transactions are tricks based on trust. What is a major cause of the failure of the Banking business? What is the most important point to running the banking business safely?
DP2: What are two measures that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department announced to prevent further failures When Signature Bank had also failed?
DP3: Why does this event (the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank (svb),) raise profound questions about the U.S. banking system? What are the lessons and learns from this event?
DP4: It is said that functioning as a lender of last resort is one of the most important functions of a central bank. If so, why can they not save the Silicon Valley Bank (svb)?
DP5: It is said that high-interest rates have exposed asset-debt mismatches like the one that caused the svb to collapse because of the price of decades of monetary easing. Do you believe that the slow-rolling crisis shall be accompanied by more foreclosures and closings?
DP6: It is said that smaller banks with uninsured deposits need to raise more capital as soon as possible to prevent spreading further financial risks. Do you believe it is possible to apply this solution to prevent further risks?
DP7: It is said that all the post-crisis rulebooks were written based on the past safety myth, the problems of the financial system never emerge from the most carefully observed places. How can we deal with unknown potential risks?

The Fed smothers capitalism in an attempt to save it.

The Fed smothers capitalism in an attempt to save it

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
The Fed smothers capitalism in an attempt to save it
Its latest financial intervention is a new twist on an old story
 
DP1: What were the actions of the authorities to deal with the banking panics in the United States since 1863?
DP2: It is said that authorities provide support and impose restrictions. getting this balance right is very difficult. Why is that?
DP3: It is said that the Fed has no intention of making this change permanent. The special lending cap is only one year, which officials hope is long enough to stave off a crisis.  What kind of situations can you assume when the "lender of last resort" risks turning into the "lender of first resort?

A battle royal is brewing over copyright and AI

A battle royal is brewing over copyright and AI

 Business | Schumpeter
A battle royal is brewing over copyright and AI
Beware the Napster precedent.
 
DP1: It is said that A battle royal is brewing over copyright and AI, we need to beware of the Napster precedent. Why is Napster failed?
DP2: Do you agree that copyright law allows robots to learn?
DP3: It is said that the lesson from Napster's "reality therapy is that it's better to deal with new technology than to hope it goes away. Do you support this opinion?

Europe has led the global charge against big tech. But does it need a new approach?

Europe has led the global charge against big tech. But does it need a new approach?

Europe | Charlemagne
Europe has led the global charge against big tech. But does it need a new approach?
A chat with Margrethe Vestager
 
DP1: It is said the weakening dominance of high-tech companies over consumers is not evidence that the European approach is working.
Why is that?
DP2: It is said that the lure of huge profits spurred innovation and benefited consumers, this is exactly what the American school of antitrust law said would happen, while Europe assumed it would not. Do you support this opinion?
DP3: It is said that evidence will emerge that antitrust clampdowns need to be tightened, regulators also look at the possibility that the opposite may be necessary. What does it mean? Why is boldly changing their minds needed to adapt to new realities? What is an appropriate new approach?

Why America is going to look more like Texas

Why America is going to look more like Texas

Leaders | Lean, mean, and surprisingly green
Why America is going to look more like Texas
Lessons from the surge of the Lone Star State
 
DP1: What are the causes of the growth in Texas?
DP2: What are weak policies in Texas?
DP3: What kind of investment is needed in Texas?
DP4: What type of politician is needed for a brighter future in Texas?

Will Bibi break Israel?

Will Bibi break Israel?

 Leaders | Binyamin Netanyahu and a constitutional crisis
Will Bibi break Israel?
When Israel’s best and brightest are up in arms it is time to worry
 
DP1: It is said that Israel faces a crisis, Judicial reforms proposed by the right-wing coalition undermine the rule of law and undermine Israeli democracy, these ugly trade-offs bring the risks of squandering that legacy and leaving Israel unable to cope with the social and geopolitical challenges of the coming decades. What are the potential risks influencing the Economy in Israel?
DP2: What are appropriate actions to stop Bibi from destroying Israel and to lead the only successful liberal democracy in the Middle East down a less dangerous path?
DP3: What is the best way to protect democracy from domestic political turmoil?
What is the best way to protect a democracy-supporting country from foreign powers?

---

1. 2023/03/18(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/03/19(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①A cartography of human histology is in the making
②How to avoid war over Taiwan
③How China Inc is tackling the TikTok problem
④Don’t fear an AI-induced jobs apocalypse just yet.
⑤How to stop the commoditization of container shipping
⑥Emerging-market central-bank experiments risk reigniting inflation
⑦Why commodities shine in a time of stagflation.
⑧Lessons from finance’s experience with artificial intelligence
⑨Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions.
➉What if Joe Biden decided against running for re-election?

---

Cartography of human histology is in the making.

A cartography of human histology is in the making

Science & technology | The Human Cell Atlas
Cartography of human histology is in the making
It will identify and locate every type of cell in the human body
 
DP1: What is the Cell Atlas project？
DP2:　What is the difference between the Cell Atlas and genome projects?
DP3: How are Proteins made?
DP4: What is the relationship between the Cell Atlas and genome projects?

How to avoid war over Taiwan

How to avoid war over Taiwan

 Leaders | America, China, and Taiwan
How to avoid war over Taiwan
A superpower conflict would shake the world.
 
DP1: It is said that a war over Taiwan could involve a new generation of weapons, which could cause untold destruction and unpredictable retaliation, the economic consequences would also be enormous.
How to avoid war over Taiwan?
DP2: It is said that the Taiwanese, like the Ukrainians, deserve American assistance. Why is that?
DP3: It is said that the U.S. and the current Chinese administration will never agree on Taiwan. However, they do share a common interest in avoiding World War III. If so, the Taiwan war never happened. Do you believe so?
DP4: It is said that the potential common ground between the United States and China over Taiwan is narrowing. Somehow, these two opposing systems must find a way to coexist in a less dangerous way.
What is the less dangerous way?

How China Inc is tackling the TikTok problem

How China Inc is tackling the TikTok problem

 Business | Seizing the moment.
How China Inc is tackling the TikTok problem
A CEO’s guide to doing business amid anti-Chinese sentiment.
 
DP1: What are three common strategies for doing business amid anti-Chinese sentiment?
DP2: It is said that Apps that collect data on shopping habits, i.e., most consumer-oriented apps, would turn a technological strength into a geopolitical weakness. Confront that threat will require a whole other level of ingenuity. What are other levels of ingenuity?

Don’t fear an AI-induced jobs apocalypse just yet.

Don’t fear an AI-induced jobs apocalypse just yet

 Business | Where are all the robots?
Don’t fear an AI-induced jobs apocalypse just yet.
The West suffers from too little automation, not too much.
 
DP1: It is said the immediate problem for developed countries is not too much automation, but too little. What is the cause of this issue?
DP2: It is said that it is quite another to go from science fiction to science fact and from there to economic fact. What is the best strategy to change from the science fact to economic fact?
DP3: It is said that Musk's car company is developing an artificially intelligent self-driving robot, code-named Optimus, for use in homes and factories. Do you believe that fear of an AI-induced jobs apocalypse is brought by a start-up company using AI like Tesla?

How to stop the commoditization of container shipping

How to stop the commoditisation of container shipping

 Business | Schumpeter
How to stop the commoditization of container shipping
The two biggest carriers chart radically different routes.
 
DP1: What are the different business strategies between the number one (Maersk)and number two (MSC) players in global trade? And What is each company's background?
DP2: It is said that the two companies announced that they would end their partnership in 2025 and go their separate ways. Why do they start to have their partnership and end it?

Emerging-market central-bank experiments risk reigniting inflation

Emerging-market central-bank experiments risk reigniting inflation

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
Emerging-market central-bank experiments risk reigniting inflation
New policies could undermine two decades of progress.
 
DP1: It is said that over the past two decades, central bankers in emerging economies have accomplished the amazing feat of lowering inflation rates that seemed intractable. How do they accomplish it?
DP2: The treasury of developed countries rarely manages its budget on a hand-to-mouth basis, since it has ample funds and can issue more bonds. On the other hand, emerging market governments often make up the shortfall by putting money into the central bank's " means" account. Why is this a dangerous practice?
DP3:It is said that there are already many threats to central banks in emerging economies、chief among them is the fact that when inflation falls, it is more difficult to get the policy right than when inflation rises. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

Why commodities shine in a time of stagflation.

Why commodities shine in a time of stagflation

 Finance & economics | Buttonwood
Why commodities shine in a time of stagflation.
They offer high returns, low correlation with other assets, and protection from inflation.
 
DP1: Why do commodities shine in a time of stagflation that is a combination of high inflation and low growth?
DP2: What are two reasons that commodity futures remain an esoteric asset class rather than a portfolio staple?
DP3: What size of investors that commodity futures have many advantages?

Lessons from finance’s experience with artificial intelligence

Lessons from finance’s experience with artificial intelligence

 Finance & economics | A techy tug-of-war
Lessons from finance’s experience with artificial intelligence
Humans can take on machines.
 
DP1: It is said that AI(artificial intelligence) has the potential to revolutionize business, but it also shows that AI adoption can be slow and progress can be hindered. What are the three main reasons preventing AI adoption?
DP2: It is said that at least with regard to the stock market, automation has not become the winner-take-all event that many elsewhere fear, rather, it is more like a tug-of-war between man and machine, and despite the fact that the machines are winning, humans are still not letting go. Do you believe that most employees in the stock market shall be replaced by AI robots from humans in the future?

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions.

Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions

 Europe | Charlemagne
Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions.
A fight over cars turns ugly.
 
DP1: It is said that Germany is letting a domestic squabble pollute Europe’s green ambitions, and revisiting an agreement once it has been reached would be to destroy the EU machinery. What is the best way to deal with this issue?
DP2: It is said that many other European leaders have unwieldy coalition governments. No one is going to spoil an important piece of EU legislation for the sake of political expediency in their own country. If so, do you believe that a new European law that would stop the sale of cars with new internal combustion engines by 2035 shall be established?

What if Joe Biden decided against running for re-election?

What if Joe Biden decided against running for re-election?

 United States | Say it ain’t Joe
What if Joe Biden decided against running for re-election?
The Democratic bench has plenty of talent.
 
DP1: What was the main goal of Joe Biden if he decides to run for re-election?
DP2: It is said that the Democratic bench has plenty of talent.
Who is the ideal candidate in the Democratic party what if Joe Biden decided against running for re-election?

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1. 2023/03/11(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/03/12(Sun) 9AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic.
②Lessons from Novo Nordisk on the stampede for obesity drugs
③How the titans of tech investing are staying warm over the VC winter
④Investors are going nuts for ChatGPT-ish artificial intelligence.
⑤America’s property market suggests recession is on the way.
⑥The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride.
⑦The case against Google hinges on an antitrust “mistake”
⑧After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner.
⑨Why aren’t China and America more afraid of war?
➉Biden’s big bet on big government

---

New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic.

New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic

 Leaders | Eat, inject, repeat.
New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic.
The long-term effects must be carefully studied. But the excitement is justified.

DP1:Why could a new type of drug called glp-1 spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic?
DP2:  Why is the impact of obesity on finances and the economy significant?
DP3: What are the two biggest uncertainties in a new drug?

Lessons from Novo Nordisk on the stampede for obesity drugs

Lessons from Novo Nordisk on the stampede for obesity drugs

 Business | Schumpeter
Lessons from Novo Nordisk on the stampede for obesity drugs
Dos and don’ts on how to handle a gold rush.
 
DP1: It is said that a growth stock of Novo Nordisk for the past two years, doubling in value on expectations that its overlapping diabetes and obesity treatments will become the best-selling drugs in history. What are three golden rules on how to deal with a booming economy that we can lesson and learn from Novo Nordisk?
DP2: It is said that it is important to maintain goodwill for obesity drugs to spread to other diseases, such as the cardiovascular system. Like diabetes, obesity may be the beginning of another 100-year business. Do you believe so?

How the titans of tech investing are staying warm over the VC winter

How the titans of tech investing are staying warm over the VC winter

 Business | VCetacean evolution
How the titans of tech investing are staying warm over the VC winter
Venture capital’s bruised whales are rethinking their strategies.
 
DP1: It is said that the venture whales can be divided into three subspecies represented by big-name investors. What are these?
DP2: It is said that the largest venture investors (known as VC whales) are rethinking their strategies. What are these?
DP3: It is said that limited partners (LPs), the main source of funding for VC funds, are threatened by the recession. Who is LP? Why is that?
DP4: It is said that the focus will shift to "breakthrough innovation rather than incremental innovation" in the coming years, given the country's support for strategic technologies. What fields are they focusing on?

Investors are going nuts for ChatGPT-ish artificial intelligence.

Investors are going nuts for ChatGPT-ish artificial intelligence

 Business | Intelligence services
Investors are going nuts for ChatGPT-ish artificial intelligence.
Even Elon Musk wants his own AI chatbot.
  
DP1: It is said that a "generative" artificial intelligence is based on a "foundational" model, a vast and complex algorithm that imparts wisdom to chatGPT and other AIs.　What is a foundational model？
DP2: It is said that more than web browsers and smartphones, the underlying model makes it easier to build new services and applications on top of it.　Do you believe so？
DP3: It is said that many startups offer run-of-the-mill ideas that focus on features rather than products; proprietary ones like Openai's GPT-3.5 are ahead. What are its open-source alternatives?
DP4: It is said that generative AI has also stepped into a legal minefield because the Models often get things wrong. What is the best strategy to deal with this issue?
DP5: It is said that for risk-averse investors, the safest bets at the moment are providers that offer enough processing power to train and run the foundation models. What kind of companies are those providers?

America’s property market suggests recession is on the way.

America’s property market suggests recession is on the way

 Finance & economics | Bringing down the house.
America’s property market suggests recession is on the way.
As developers find clever ways to cut mortgage rates, the Fed may fight back
 
DP1: Why does the Federal Reserve most pay attention to the real estate market to control the interest rate?
DP2: It is said that developers are offering incentive menus, such discounts represent a clever aspect of financial engineering. What does it mean?
DP3: What are two potential problems to sustaining the discounts?
DP4: It is said that there has never been a recession that has not been preceded by a significant decline in prices of Housing and residential investment. What is the best way for the Federal Reserve to prevent the recession?

The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride.

The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride

Finance & economics | Buttonwood
The anti-ESG industry is taking investors for a ride.
Making a stand comes at a considerable price.
 
DP1: It is said that until recently, there were two ironclad rules of investing.
What are the two rules?
DP2: It is said that as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria grow in importance, Friedman's shareholder-dominant principle has been weakened. Why is that?
DP3: It is said that like all revolutions, this one is generating a backlash. The anti-ESG backlash is flourishing. Why is that? What is its impact on the asset management industry?
DP4: It is said that there are many problems with the ESG movement. What are these problems?
DP5: It is said that in defense of Friedman's Law, anti-ESG advocates struggle with another part of the investment norm: the importance of low fees. What is the best strategy to deal with this issue?

The case against Google hinges on an antitrust “mistake”

The case against Google hinges on an antitrust “mistake”

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
The case against Google hinges on an antitrust “mistake”
Trustbusters are seeking to break up the tech giant, undoing a 15-year-old merger.
 
DP1: It is said that the monopoly power of the railroad bridge was, in the court's view, a means of shutting down the business of rival railroad operators throughout the United States in 1912. What did the US Supreme Court rule in this case?
DP2: It is said that more than a century later, American trustbusters are preparing to battle another giant in the network industry, the complaint alleges that Google has used coercive methods to shut down the advertising technology business. Do you support this allegation?
DP3: It is said that at the center of the case is DoubleClick, which was acquired by Google in 2008. DoubleClick was a leader in the digital advertising marketing field, it is almost a truism among regulators that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should have blocked this merger. Why cannot it be said that it was actually a mistake to permit this merger?
DP4: What is a positive impact on the network industry if an FTC blocked the merger and (perhaps) lost, they could have gone to court inside the administration.

After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner.

After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner

 Europe | Charlemagne
After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner.
At least it’s over.
DP1: It is said that after seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner. Why is that?
DP2: It is said that those who voted to leave insisted that London would "hold all the cards" in negotiations with the European Union. In fact, however, the opposite was true, no one has figured out what the UK really wants. What did the UK get and lose from Brexit?
DP3: What is the expected relationship between the UK and the EU in the future?

Why aren’t China and America more afraid of war?

Why aren’t China and America more afraid of a war?

 China | Chaguan
Why aren’t China and America more afraid of war?
Next to China’s irresponsible stand-off with America, the cold war looks almost like a model.
 
DP1: It is said that the U.S.-China competition risks becoming a shallow and petulant parody of the Cold War. Why is that?
DP2: What are the lessons that the U.S. and China must learn from the crises of decades past the Cold War?
DP3: It is said that fear overcame total secrecy because U.S. and Soviet officials established emergency hotlines to deal with the fear of nuclear war under the Cold war between the US and the Soviet Union. Why do US and China not feel real fear of the war between them?
DP4: It is said that in the war between China and the U.S., the lack of fear is the most frightening thing. Do you support this opinion? If so, what is the solution to prevent a real war between them?

Biden’s big bet on big government

Biden’s big bet on big government

 United States | Lexington
Biden’s big bet on big government
Top aides like John Podesta are racing the clock to transform America’s economy.
 
DP1: It is said that top aides like John Podesta are racing the clock to transform America’s economy. What are his background and his accomplishment?
DP2: What are several headaches for Podesta to engage in big government?
DP3: It is said that there is the failure of legislation to streamline the clean energy permitting process, and this has left state and local governments with vast amounts of authority to interfere. How is he going to deal with this issue?
DP3: It is said that it may take about two years to prove that government can be a powerful force for good in the lives of all Americans. a generation of Democrats has been waiting for the opportunity that Biden seized. Do you support the timeline to accomplish it? What is happen if the Democratic candidate is not elected as the next president of the US?

---

1. 2023/03/04(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/03/05(Sun) 9 AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research.
②How to win the hot war in Ukraine and the cold war that will follow it.
③Global firms are eyeing Asian alternatives to Chinese manufacturing.
④It’s time for Alphabet to spin off YouTube.
⑤The world’s interest bill is $13trn—and rising.
⑥What would the perfect climate-change lender look like?
⑦Why Vladimir Putin will never stand trial in The Hague
⑧“Freedom” is America’s latest political football

---

There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research.

There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research

Science & technology | Scientific malpractice
There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research.
And a worrying unwillingness to do anything about it

DP1: It is said that there is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research. What is the cause of it? What is its Scientific malpractice?
DP2: It is said that most fabricated papers come from one of two sources. What are these sources?
DP3: It is said that fabricated papers are often written for a fee by contractors known as "paper mills”. What do they do on the documents?
DP4: Why are the Science publisher unwilling to do anything about Scientific malpractice?
DP5: What is the best solution for fabricated papers and Scientific malpractice?
DP6: Do you believe this issue will be solved if criminal penalties are imposed on those fabricating data?
DP7: It is said that it is now clear that turning a blind eye to Scientific malpractice is doing apparent damage to the patient. Do you believe that for the sake of science, it is time for scientists to stop trusting each other?
DP8: Do you believe that AI can solve Science Malpractice issues?

How to win the hot war in Ukraine and the cold war that will follow it.

How to win the hot war in Ukraine and the cold war that will follow it

Leaders | The future of Ukraine
How to win the hot war in Ukraine and the cold war that will follow it
After a year of fighting, what comes next?

DP1: Why does the War in Ukraine continue for more than 1year? What are two major challenges in this war?
DP2: Why is it said that joining Ukraine into NATO is the ideal solution to this war? Do you believe that it is possible?
DP3: Do you believe that creating robust military industries in Western countries and keep supporting Ukraine is the only solution to stop this war?
DP4: What are the influences in the world in the case when A Russian victory in Ukraine and a Ukrainian victory in Russia?
DP5: What is the future of Ukraine? The state like in a cease-fire, as in the 70-year-old conflict between North and South Korea? Is the state like Israel in Europe? Or something else?

Global firms are eyeing Asian alternatives to Chinese manufacturing.

Global firms are eyeing Asian alternatives to Chinese manufacturing

Business | The Altasian option
Global firms are eyeing Asian alternatives to Chinese manufacturing
Can “Altasia” steal China’s thunder?

DP1: It is said that the alternative Asian supply chain is called Altasia.
What are the different economic impacts of Altasia compared to the Chinese supply chain?
DP2: It is said that Altasia is also more economically integrated and the Atlassian economic model already exists. How does it work?
DP3: What are the weak points in Altasia?
DP4: It is said that it is certain that Altasia will not replace China anytime soon, but as a new alternative to China, Altasia is unparalleled. Do you believe so?

 It’s time for Alphabet to spin off YouTube.

It’s time for Alphabet to spin off YouTube

Business | Schumpeter
It’s time for Alphabet to spin off YouTube.
It could be worth more than Netflix.

DP1: Why is it said that it’s time for Alphabet to spin off YouTube?
DP2: Why is it said that YouTube could be worth more than Netflix?
DP3: Do you think that Alphabet spins off YouTube? Do you want to have the stock of YouTube if they spin off it?

 The world’s interest bill is $13trn—and rising.

The world’s interest bill is $13trn—and rising

Finance & economics | Time for the tab
The world’s interest bill is $13trn—and rising.
We calculate who has been hit hardest by rising rates.

 DP1: It is said that in the real world, rising interest rates do not immediately increase the cost of debt service, except for variable-rate debt such as overnight loans from banks. interest rate increases will be reflected in public debt in about 5 years and in households and firms in about 2 years. Do you believe that the above situation causes the market to underestimate central bank tightening?
DP2:It is said that the market’s underestimating central bank tightening would bring the burden to 20% of GDP. What shall happen in the situation?
Shall the sharp inflation of the 1980s happen by that situation?
DP3: It is said that China is now the largest lender to the world's poorer economies, financing two-thirds of their ballooning foreign debt repayments and complicating debt relief efforts. What is the best solution to prevent the world's economic risk?

What would the perfect climate-change lender look like?

What would the perfect climate-change lender look like?

Finance & economics | Free exchange
What would the perfect climate-change lender look like?
Welcome to a second Bretton Woods

 DP1: It is said that the goal of first Bretton Woods is restructuring the international financial system after World War II, second one’s goal is that the twin sisters, the IMF and the World Bank are becoming the best lenders for climate action. Do you believe that it is possible? How do they work for the actions?
DP2: It is said that the fight to create a framework for climate change finance began in 1992 at the so-called Earth Summit. What is about the fight?
DP3: It is said that the next challenge is how to maximize the balance sheet of the Green Bank. What is it?
DP4: It is said that it needs to make good use of this large balance sheet. What is it?
DP5: It is said that one model could be a "conservation debt" or "climate change debt" swap. Why are they inefficient?
DP6: Why is it said that the World Bank's toolbox may be helpful to deal with this issue?
DP7: It is said that the most radical option would be to give up on green banking altogether and as the most efficient way to achieve net zero, some sort of global carbon tax shall be applied, the proceeds of which would be distributed among countries based on population. Do you support this opinion to deal with this issue?

 Why Vladimir Putin will never stand trial in The Hague

Why Vladimir Putin will never stand trial in The Hague

 Europe | Charlemagne
Why Vladimir Putin will never stand trial in The Hague
Here is what could happen instead.

DP1: Why will Vladimir Putin never stand trial in The Hague where International Criminal Court (ICC) is located?
DP2: It is said that separate from the ICC, if the UN could set up a special tribunal, there is still a possibility that Russian crimes will be prosecuted, But this is also unrealistic. Why is that?
DP3: It is said that the act of invading a neighboring country is one that can be attributed to the responsibility of politicians, prosecuting such crimes, however, is an uncharted legal territory, there have been only two cases, the Nuremberg Trials, and the Tokyo Trials after World War II. Why is the "crime of aggression" not applied to Russia in this war in Ukraine?
DP4: It is said that if the international community cannot prosecute Mr. Putin for his crimes of aggression, it is because it needs to focus its efforts on making sure that those crimes are not rewarded by giving Mr. Zelensky the weapons and money he needs to defeat the invading forces. Do you support this opinion?
DP5: It is said that Putin's substantial immunity demonstrates the fragility of the international justice system. What are other solutions to deal with this issue except for the above solution?

“Freedom” is America’s latest political football

“Freedom” is America’s latest political football

 United States | Lexington
“Freedom” is America’s latest political football
But on the right and left, politicians are groping for a new definition of what it means.

DP1: It is said that “Freedom” is America’s latest political football, but on the right and left, politicians are groping for a new definition of what it means. What does it mean?
DP2: It is said that Americans have reconciled themselves to centralized power by embracing the ideals of government that maximizes the freedom of citizens to pursue their own ends and the freedom to seek an economy that pulls the plug on consumption. Government brings economic growth, and Americans debate how to distribute it, but politicians stay out of questions about it. How should they deal with the fragility of American democracy?
DP3: It is said that even a person who supports the apostle of growth, believed that the economy should serve political ends and not the other way around. Do you support this opinion?
DP4: It is said that the idea of the relationship between government and liberty is a core premise of American politics. What is the ideal relationship between them?

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1. 2023/02/25(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/02/26(Sun) 9 AM-11AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Inflation will be harder to bring down than markets think
②Lots of investors think inflation is under control. Not so fast
③AI-wielding tech firms are giving a new shape to modern warfare.
④What Tencent’s rebound says about prospects for China’s big tech
⑤The case for globalization optimism
⑥War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition.
⑦Scrutiny of major crypto institutions is intensifying.
⑧What’s behind France’s fatal fascination with Russia
⑨American business and propaganda for free markets

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Inflation will be harder to bring down than markets think.

Inflation will be harder to bring down than markets think

 Leaders | Still aloft
Inflation will be harder to bring down than markets think
Investors are betting on good times. The likelier prospect is turbulence
 
DP1:It is said the world's major economies, especially the United States, will avoid recession. Why do they think like that?
DP2: It is said that the above assumption is probably misguided, the fight against global inflation is far from over, and that means the market may be forced to make a nasty adjustment. Why should we think like that?

Lots of investors think inflation is under control. Not so fast

Lots of investors think inflation is under control. Not so fast

Briefing | A hard road
Lots of investors think inflation is under control. Not so fast
Tight labor markets suggest that prices may continue to rise faster than markets think
 
DP1. It is said that prices may continue to rise faster than markets think. Why do they think like that?
DP2: It is said that the central bank is worrying about repeating the mistakes of the 1970s. What are the mistakes of the 1970s?
DP3: What phenomenon of "long and varied lag" in monetary policy is?
DP4: Why is tracking the money supply very outdated even though the money supply is one of the few indicators that gives advance warning of inflation?
DP5: It is said that the probability of inflation is about twice that of pre-pandemic levels based on derivatives prices. What should we do to prevent future risks?

AI-wielding tech firms are giving a new shape to modern warfare.

AI-wielding tech firms are giving a new shape to modern warfare

 
Business | Schumpeter
AI-wielding tech firms are giving a new shape to modern warfare.
Ukraine is a testing ground for companies like Anduril and Palantir
 
DP1: It is said that Ukraine is a testing ground for companies like Anduril and Palantir. What are these companies about?
DP2: Why are the founders of Anduril and Palantir called Silicon Valley rebels?
DP3: It is said that the struggle of the high-tech Davidians against the U.S. military-industrial Goliath is not dissimilar to the high-tech Ukrainian military's fight against the caustic power of Russia. What does it mean?

What Tencent’s rebound says about prospects for China’s big tech

What Tencent’s rebound says about prospects for China’s big tech

 
Business | Up. Down. And sideways?
What Tencent’s rebound says about prospects for China’s big tech
A once unstoppable sector is getting used to a new normal
 
DP1: What Tencent’s rebound says about the future of China’s big tech?
DP2: What are three challenges that Tencent, like other digital giants in China, will have to address?
DP3: Why is there no room for digital winners anymore in China, only survivors?

The case for globalization optimism

The case for globalisation optimism

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
The case for globalization optimism
Perhaps isolation is not inevitable, after all.
 
DP1: What is the lesson and learn from 1930 when the world economy was collapsing?
DP2: What is the case for globalization optimism?
DP3: Why is globalization optimism justified?

War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition.

War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition

 Finance & economics | Going great guns.
War and subsidies have turbocharged the green transition.
They may have knocked as many as ten years off the timeline.

DP1: Why have War and subsidies turbocharged the green transition?
DP2: It is said that while recent progress falls short of limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2100, models suggest that this change makes a 2°C increase more achievable. Do you believe this future forecast?
 

The scrutiny of major crypto institutions is intensifying.

Scrutiny of major crypto institutions is intensifying

 Finance & economics | The afterFTX
The scrutiny of major crypto institutions is intensifying.
The industry is calling this its “Dodd-Frank moment”
 
DP1: Why is the Scrutiny of major crypto institutions intensifying?
DP2: It is said Tornado Cash is software that runs on the Ethereum blockchain and mixes individual crypto deposits into pools before dispersing them again, making it difficult to track their owners.
How does the regulator control it?
DP3: What are two major actions that authorities took the money laundering in the crypto industry?
DP4: What are the two regulator's priority actions for the financial crimes in the crypto industry?
DP5: Do you believe that the introduction of regulation cut off a source of financial innovation? or protect it?

What’s behind France’s fatal fascination with Russia

What’s behind France’s fatal fascination with Russia

 
Europe | Charlemagne
What’s behind France’s fatal fascination with Russia?
A long history helps explain why Paris has found it hard to break fully with Moscow.
 
DP1: What’s the reason behind France’s fatal fascination with Russia?
DP2: It is said that a long history helps explain why Paris has found it hard to break fully with Moscow. What is the history about?
DP3: It was said that the day might come when Russia would be brought into the "new European security structure" to prevent it from falling into Chinese hands. But Why does French diplomacy under President Macron fail to pursue the above diplomacy?

American business and propaganda for free markets

American business and propaganda for free markets

 
Culture | Business and capitalism
American business and propaganda for free markets
“The Big Myth” charts a concerted effort to shape public opinion. But did it work?
 
DP1: It is said that the argument of "The Big Myth," a study of American attitudes toward markets and government is the influence of the power of vested interests. What is it about?
DP2: Do you support the stronger "governance" of the market?
DP3: It is said that recent American voters under the age of 40 are just as likely to view socialism positively as those who view capitalism positively.　Do you view capitalism positively? or socialism positively?
DP4: It is said that switching attention to the enterprise community from stockholders is simply a new take on the old assertion that "trust the business and all will be well. Do you support this opinion?

---

1. 2023/02/18(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/02/19(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①How to predict record-shattering weather events
②DARPA, lasers, and internet in orbit
③The battle for internet search
④Is Google’s 20-year dominance of search in peril?
⑤What would Joseph Schumpeter have made of Apple?
⑥Where on Earth is big oil spending its $150bn profit bonanza?
⑦Google, Microsoft, and the threat from overmighty trustbusters
⑧The Federal Reserve’s $2.5trn question

---

How to predict record-shattering weather events

How to predict record-shattering weather events

 Science & technology | Bad weather
How to predict record-shattering weather events
Meteorologists are trying to work out just how common they will become.
 
DP1: What is the ensemble boosting technique used by Dr. Fischer? How does it relate to insurance payments?
DP2: What is the role of Climate Adaptation Services (CAS), a charitable organization?
DP3: Do you think we need to introduce stress and testing in the face of cruel and unprecedented events?

DARPA, lasers, and the internet in orbit

DARPA, lasers and an internet in orbit

Science & technology | Military communications
DARPA, lasers, and the internet in orbit
America hopes to create a new intelligence network in space
 
DP1: What is a Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-bacn)? What are its characteristics compared to radio waves?
DP2: What are the drawbacks of space-bacn?
DP3: What is Amazon's "Project Kuiper"?

The battle for internet search

The battle for internet search

 Leaders | Search engines
The battle for internet search
Will the AI chatbots eat Google’s lunch?
 
DP1: What can an artificial intelligence (ai) powered chatbot do?
DP2: What is the difference between chatbots and search engines?
DP3: Do you think tech companies can make money from chatbots?
DP4: Do you think chatbots will compete with search engines? Do you think they will be a complementary service?
DP5: Do you think the advent of chatbots will bring back the great value of being the front door to the Internet as it was in the 1990s when search engines first appeared?

Is Google’s 20-year dominance of search in peril?

Is Google’s 20-year dominance of search in peril?

 Business | Seeking change.
Is Google’s 20-year dominance of search in peril?
ChatGPT-like tools could disrupt a lucrative business.
 
DP1: Why is Google afraid of chatbots?
DP2: What are the most serious threats to Google?
DP3: What are the weaknesses of chatbots?
DP4: What are Alphabet's advantages and weaknesses?

What would Joseph Schumpeter have made of Apple?

What would Joseph Schumpeter have made of Apple?

 Business | Schumpeter
What would Joseph Schumpeter have made of Apple?
The iPhone maker shows the many sides of creative destruction.
 
DP1: It is said there is an inconvenient truth about Joseph Schumpeter, the patron saint of this column. What does it mean?
DP2: Why is Apple a company that so successfully embodies both sides of Schumpeter’s philosophy?
DP3: Why is antitrust all nonsense for Apple?
DP4: What is the bleak future of capitalism that Schumpeter would have been sympathetic to in his later years?

Where on Earth is big oil spending its $150bn profit bonanza?

Where on Earth is big oil spending its $150bn profit bonanza?

 Business | The energy majors’ new map
Where on Earth is big oil spending its $150bn profit bonanza?
BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies are increasingly looking to their backyards
 
DP1: It is said new money from the energy majors is not flowing to the same places it used to. Where is it flowing to?
DP2: Why is the future of energy exploration likely to be leaner, greener, and more longitudinal?

Google, Microsoft, and the threat from overmighty trustbusters

Google, Microsoft and the threat from overmighty trustbusters

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
Google, Microsoft, and the threat from overmighty trustbusters
From DNA sequencing to video games, little escapes the attention of regulators
 
DP1: It is said that there are two types of mergers: worrisome and welcome. Why are "horizontal" mergers worrisome? Why are non-horizontal mergers welcome?
DP2: Why are non-horizontal mergers increasingly being challenged by antitrust authorities?
DP3: What are the different features between the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and UK's Community and Markets Authority (CMA)?
DP4: It is said that vertical integration does not harm consumers, instead, it may help consumers. Why is that?
DP5: It is said that recent Trustbusters have placed less emphasis on pricing. What do they concern about other than pricing?

The Federal Reserve’s $2.5trn question

The Federal Reserve’s $2.5trn question

 Finance & economics | Quantitative frightening
The Federal Reserve’s $2.5trn question
Upon which the future of monetary policy rests
 
DP1: What different features of monetary policy between quantitative tightening (QT) and quantitative easing (QE)? What are the different influences of each monetary policy on interest rates?
DP2: Why may problems arise if reverse repo (overnight reverse-repurchase agreements) and Bank reserves may not actually be interchangeable?
DP3: It is said that for now, the market may be calm, but it will not end there if Congress decides to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. Why is that?
DP4: Do you believe that the Federal Reserve can shrink its massive balance sheet with minimal impact on the economy by quantitative tightening (QT)?

---

1. 2023/02/11(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/02/12(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Joe Biden’s effort to remake the economy is ambitious, risky—and selfish.
②America’s government is spending lavishly to revive manufacturing.
③AI boom: lessons from history
④The race of the AI labs heats up
⑤The relationship between AI and humans
⑥America’s hoped-for Asian semiconductor pact looks tricky.
⑦A new challenge to relations between America and China

---

Joe Biden’s effort to remake the economy is ambitious, risky—and selfish.

Joe Biden’s effort to remake the economy is ambitious, risky—and selfish

Leaders | Economic reform
Joe Biden’s effort to remake the economy is ambitious, risky—and selfish
But America’s plan to spend $2trn could help save the planet

DP1: It is said that Joe Biden’s effort to remake the economy is ambitious, risky—and selfish. Why is Mr. Biden taking a landmark political gamble?
DP2: It is said that with such disparate objectives, it is simply impossible to say whether the massive plan will succeed or fail. Why is it impossible to forecast its result?
DP3: What are three things needed to make this plan a reality?
DP4: It is said that Biden's blueprint for economic restructuring will transform America and could help to save the planet. Why is that?

America’s government is spending lavishly to revive manufacturing.

America’s government is spending lavishly to revive manufacturing

Briefing | Rosy for riveters
America’s government is spending lavishly to revive manufacturing.
Can an industrial renaissance make America stronger, greener, and richer?

DP1: It is said that the IRA (Inflation Control Act), the chips act, and the infrastructure bill are "one of the most significant investments ever, this is a major reversal. What are the differences between the new and the past 40 years' policy? Why do they change the policy?
DP2: It is said the new policy has solved the political problem, but many practical issues arise, we want a lot of things that contradict the facts on the ground. What are the contradictions of the facts?
DP3: What is another problem in the new industrial policy?
DP4: What is the real challenge in the US labor market by the new policy?
DP5: Why does the new policy increase the cost burned by taxpayers, consumers, and shareholders?
DP6: It is said While Biden's complex political compromise is highly inefficient and will not usher in a new era of manufacturing-led prosperity, it will nonetheless change America and the world. Do you support this comment?

AI boom: lessons from history

The AI boom: lessons from history

Finance & economics | Free exchange
The AI boom: lessons from history
How powerful new technologies transform economies.

DP1: What is GPT(generative pre-trained transformer)? How does it work?
DP2: It is said the first lesson from history is that even the most powerful new technology takes time to transform an economy.　What were the lessons in the steam revolution and electrification and other technological innovations?
DP3: Why has the importance of what is called intangible capital been emphasized? Why is the time required to accumulate the basic know-how needed to effectively use new technologies?
DP4: It is said that powerful ai could break the mold of history, technology that can handle almost any task that the average person can perform will lead humanity into the uncharted economic territory. Do you support this opinion?

The race of the AI labs heats up.

The race of the AI labs heats up

Business | Battle of the boffins
The race of the AI labs heats up.
ChatGPT is not the only game in town.

DP1: Who is the winner in an epic race for AI supremacy? Major high-tech companies? or independent start-ups?
DP2: It is said that in the second half of the 20th century, corporate R&D steadily became less "R" and more "D." in 2017. Why does it become like that?
DP3: Which AI was clearly superior in several tests?  a model of Openai called GPT-3.5? Google's as yet unreleased chatbot, based on a model called Lamda?
DP4: What are two important factors that could affect the final outcome of the contest?

The relationship between AI and humans

The relationship between AI and humans

Business | Bartleby
The relationship between AI and humans
What questions do technologies like ChatGPT raise for employees and customers?

DP1: It is said that intuitively, being able to follow the algorithm's reasoning should outweigh not being able to, but too much explanation is a problem. Why is it less clear whether one needs to understand what is going on inside the AI?
DP2: Why do consumers react differently when approving loans or country club memberships when done by a machine versus a person?
DP3: It is said that the impact of chat and other AIs depends not only on what they can do but also on how they make people feel. What is the ideal relationship between the human being and the artificial intelligence (AI) tool, ChatGPT?

America’s hoped-for Asian semiconductor pact looks tricky.

America’s hoped-for Asian semiconductor pact looks tricky

Asia | Chip networks, chip wars
America’s hoped-for Asian semiconductor pact looks tricky.
Democratic or not, Asia’s chipmakers are in competition with each other.

DP1: It is said that there are two sides to the coin: chip networks and chip wars. What does it mean?
DP2: It is said that the semiconductor industry is not immune to geopolitical wrestling. What wrestling has been done since the 1980s?
DP3: Why does America’s hoped-for Asian semiconductor pact look tricky?DP4: What are the three major risks in the semiconductor industry?

A new challenge to relations between America and China

A new challenge to relations between America and China

China | A representative problem
A new challenge to relations between America and China
As Xi Jinping tries to ease tensions, a congressional committee risks exacerbating them.

DP1: It is said that U.S. presidential election approaches, the two parties' China policies will converge, and relations with China could fall victim to American political struggles. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP2: It is said that the credibility of congressional committees is derived more from media interest than from formal authority, and it quickly fades when it descends into partisan controversy. Who can control the congressional committee risks?

---

1. 2023/02/04(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/02/05(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Neurons are not the only brain cells that think.
②The humbling of Goldman Sachs
③The world economy’s inflation problem is easing.
④How the world economy could avoid recession.
⑤Have economists misunderstood inflation?
⑥How much innovation is necessary to see off fossil fuels?
⑦How will Satya Nadella handle Microsoft’s ChatGPT moment?
⑧Big business is in for a rough earnings season.
⑨Experience from a past crisis suggests Europe should shake off any complacency.

---

Neurons are not the only brain cells that think.

Neurons are not the only brain cells that think

Science & technology | Out of ’cyte, out of mind
Neurons are not the only brain cells that think.
Astrocytes, for instance, may play a role in depression and anxiety.

DP1: It is said that Neurons are not the only brain cells that think. What are others?
DP2: What are the three types of brain cells that the neurons are supported by? What are the Glial cells? What are these functions?
DP3: It is said that microglia are gardeners, Oligodendrocytes are traffic lights, and the astrocyte acts like the "base" connection of a transistor, controlling the passage of signals between the other two (neurons, equivalent to the "emitter" and "collector" of a transistor).　 What does it mean? What are these functions?
DP4: It is said that because of the active-milieu interpretation, we now know that when glia goes bad, we are in trouble. What is the active-milieu interpretation?  What is the relationship between glial dysfunction and many neurological and psychiatric disorders?
DP5: What is the relationship between autism and microglia?
DP6: What is the relationship between the dysfunction of oligodendrocytes and the cause of the visual and auditory hallucinations that are characteristic of psychosis?
DP7: What is the relationship between astrocyte dysfunction and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease?
DP8: It is said that Artificial neural networks are based on an early model of how neurons work, artificial glia shall be added to the network to see if their performance could be improved. Do you believe that the idea of artificial neuron-glia networks improves the quality of AI (artificial intelligence)?

The humbling of Goldman Sachs

The humbling of Goldman Sachs

Leaders | Goldman sags
The humbling of Goldman Sachs
The struggle to reinvent a firm trapped by its own mythology.

DP1: What is each reinvention in JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs?  What are these results?
DP2: What are three major lessons that Goldman's struggles suggest?
DP3: It is said that there is something peculiarly difficult about reforming an elite company that has an unwritten rule that they are smarter than everyone else. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

The world economy’s inflation problem is easing.

The world economy’s inflation problem is easing

Leaders | Polycrisis or polyrecovery?
The world economy’s inflation problem is easing.
But the recession is still likely.

DP1: Why recession is still likely even though the world economy’s inflation problem is easing?
DP2: What are two major enemies that will make the world economy able to escape the crisis?

How the world economy could avoid recession.

How the world economy could avoid recession

Finance & economics | Dare to dream.
How the world economy could avoid recession
Markets are giddy, but there is a long way to go.

DP1: What are two major factors that the global economy is holding up better than expected?
DP2: Why is there a long way to go to avoid recession?
DP3: How can the world economy avoid recession?

Have economists misunderstood inflation?

Have economists misunderstood inflation?

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Have economists misunderstood inflation?
Government debt is at the core of rising prices, argues an important new book.

DP1: It is said that the real cause of inflation is government debt, not monetary policy. According to this theory, money is valuable because it is used to pay taxes and run surpluses. Not much different from the gold standard, but money is backed by taxes, not gold. What logic is behind supporting this fiscal theory?
DP2: How does the above fiscal theory (Government debt is at the core of rising prices) explain inflation in Europe after World War I and U.S. inflation in the 1970s and 1980s?
DP3: What are three major important factors to control inflation?
DP4: Why was fiscal theory not working for a decade after the global financial crisis of 2007-2009?
DP5: What are two major causes of the fiscal surpluses of the 1990s, which many consumers in the 1980s did not anticipate?
DP6: Why does monetary policy remain important?

How much innovation is necessary to see off fossil fuels?

How much innovation is necessary to see off fossil fuels?

 Culture | The future of energy
How much innovation is necessary to see off fossil fuels?
Mark Jacobson contributes to an urgent debate in “No Miracles Needed.”

DP1: It is said that a combination of wars, policy errors, and economic trends have now put the world once again on the brink of an energy crunch. this crisis will be the catalyst for an energy revolution. What are two reasons to believe that change will occur?
DP2: It is said that 95% of the technology we need is already commercially available to decarbonize the global economy. Do you support this opinion?
DP3: It is said a "giant leap in innovation" in advanced batteries, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, carbon capture, and other yet-to-be-commercialized technologies is needed to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050, which many countries have adopted. Do you support this opinion?
DP4: How can we fundraise to invest in breakthrough innovations?

How will Satya Nadella handle Microsoft’s ChatGPT moment?

How will Satya Nadella handle Microsoft’s ChatGPT moment?

Business | Schumpeter
How will Satya Nadella handle Microsoft’s ChatGPT moment?

DP1: It is said that Microsoft announced its third investment (estimated at $10 billion) in OpenAI, the company that runs ChatGPT. What is the business impact of incorporating this AI tool into Microsoft?
DP2: What is the positive and negative impact of this AI tool ChatGPT?
How does Microsoft or other competitors deal with these impacts?
DP3: Do you believe that Microsoft's stock price is rising by this investment?

Big business is in for a rough earnings season.

Big business is in for a rough earnings season

Business | Bulldozed
Big business is in for a rough earnings season.
Companies face falling revenues and rising costs.

DP1: What are three major concerns for companies concerning the future of profits?
DP2: It is said that the high debt and low tax rates that have supported corporate profits for decades are no longer the tailwinds they once were, as interest rates rise and the willingness to reduce deficit spending declines.
What is the best strategy for companies to deal with this situation?

Experience from a past crisis suggests Europe should shake off any complacency.

Experience from a past crisis suggests Europe should shake off any complacency

Europe | Charlemagne
Experience from a past crisis suggests Europe should shake off any complacency.
The ghost of 2009 haunts Europe

DP1: What is the ghost of 2009 haunts Europe?
DP2: It is said that there is still no permanent eurozone budget to cushion the economic shock, and no banking union to prevent a sick financial system (although the banks themselves are safe) from worsening their finances.
What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP3: It is said that policymakers who experienced the euro crisis expect it to return and have ideas on how to avoid it. What ideas that they have?
DP4: It is said that whatever form the next crisis in Europe takes, it will be exacerbated by the division within the bloc. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

---

1. 2023/01/28(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/01/29(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Which firm will win the new Moon race?
②Ideas for finding ET are getting more inventive.
③A decades-old model of animal (and human) learning is under fire.
④Disney’s troubles show how technology has changed the business of culture.
⑤Turkey could be on the brink of dictatorship.
⑥Could Europe end up with a worse inflation problem than America?
⑦Excess deaths are soaring as healthcare systems wobble.
⑧Why are healthcare services in chaos everywhere？
⑨How the young spend their money.

---

Which firm will win the new Moon race?

Which firm will win the new Moon race?

 Science & technology | Private moonshots
Which firm will win the new Moon race?
Three rival missions raise tricky questions about who owns lunar resources.
 
DP1: Which firm will win the new Moon race? “Japan's ispace”, ” Texas-based startup Intuitive Machines “, “Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh”?
What are the features of these lunar modules created by the above companies?
DP2: Why does it not matter who will win this new lunar exploration race?
DP3: It is said that accessing the Moon has few obvious benefits beyond pure scientific research. Why do we spend lots of money to go to the moon?
DP4: It is said such "resource extraction on the moon" creates a new situation because there is no international agreement on the legal status of the moon. What should we do to deal with this issue?
DP5: It is said that cheap rockets and new technologies are making the previously fanciful question of lunar ownership a reality. What is the best solution to answer troubling questions about the trajectory of human space exploration and development?

Ideas for finding ET are getting more inventive.

Ideas for finding ET are getting more inventive

 Science & technology | SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence)
Ideas for finding ET are getting more inventive.
They can’t hide out there forever.
 
DP1: It is said that Ideas for finding ET are getting more inventive. What are these ideas?
DP2: What is the role of the Green Bank Telescope, a large radio telescope in West Virginia?
DP3: Why can ET not hide out there forever?
DP4: What are the Spider pulsars? Why is the first step to listen to the sign of ET finding a star in the ever-growing Gaia catalog that is on its way to a close encounter with a spider pulsar?

A decades-old model of animal (and human) learning is under fire.

A decades-old model of animal (and human) learning is under fire

Science & technology | Dopamine. Dogma. Doubt
A decades-old model of animal (and human) learning is under fire.
The result might be better AI.
 
DP1: It is said that since the early 1970s, the prevailing theory has been that animals learn by trial and error. Why is a decades-old model of animal (and human) learning being under fire?
DP2: What are two problems that the old model always had? What is a new model to deal with these issues?
DP3: It is said that Deep neural networks learn by minimizing the error in their predictions based on the old model. How do you apply the new model to create better AI (artificial intelligence)?

Disney’s troubles show how technology has changed the business culture.

Disney’s troubles show how technology has changed the business of culture

 Leaders | Hollywood v Silicon Valley
Disney’s troubles show how technology has changed the business of culture.
At 100, the mouse can still roar. But it faces a new kind of rival.
 
DP1: It is said that Disney’s troubles show how technology has changed the business culture. What is the relationship between technology and the entertainment business?
DP2: What is a new kind of rival Disney faces? How does it deal with the new rival?

Turkey could be on the brink of dictatorship.

Turkey could be on the brink of dictatorship

Leaders | Recep for trouble
Turkey could be on the brink of dictatorship.
President Erdogan could tip his country over the edge.
 
DP1: Why could Turkey be on the brink of dictatorship?
DP2: Why need western leaders to speak up about the trouble in Turkey?
DP3: Why need Turkey also the West?
DP4: It is said that President Erdogan could tip his country over the edge. How should we deal with this issue?

Could Europe end up with a worse inflation problem than America?

Could Europe end up with a worse inflation problem than America?

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Could Europe end up with a worse inflation problem than America?
The new transatlantic divide
 
DP1: It is said that every economist knows the words of Milton Friedman: "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. However, the Nobel Prize winner's words do not seem to capture current inflation. What three significant factors affect economies on both sides of the Atlantic?
DP2: What different government policies have been applied in the United States and Europe to deal with inflation?
DP3: Why Could Europe have a worse inflation problem than America?
DP4: It is said that in Europe, wages are often determined by collective bargaining agreements. On the other hand, in a tight, flexible labor market with little or no collective bargaining, as in the United States, wage increases should quickly follow inflation. What is the best way to determine wages to deal with inflation? by collective bargaining or other methods？

Excess deaths are soaring as healthcare systems wobble.

Excess deaths are soaring as health-care systems wobble

Leaders | Flashing red
Excess deaths are soaring as healthcare systems wobble.
What lessons can be learned from a miserable winter across the rich world?

DP1: It is said that the deterioration of health care is responsible for a huge number of excess deaths. What is the cause of this issue? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP2: It is said that Governments that cannot find a way to increase productivity will be forced to increase their financial resources, i.e., raise taxes. What is the cause of this issue? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

Why healthcare services are in chaos everywhere.

Why health-care services are in chaos everywhere

Finance & economics | Ouch
Why healthcare services are in chaos everywhere.
Now is an especially bad time to suffer a heart attack.

DP1: Why are healthcare services in chaos everywhere?
DP2: It is said that the immediate problems facing the healthcare system are not due to cash shortages. What is the cause of these problems? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP3: It is said that the real question is not the number of staff, but how efficiently they are working. What is the best solution to increase the efficiency of work?
DP4: It is said that the consequences of a dysfunctional healthcare system go beyond unnecessary deaths. People begin to feel that their country is falling apart. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP5: It is said that with an aging population and the ever-present threat of Covid 19 pandemic, pre-pandemic healthcare may come to be seen as a lost golden age. What is the ideal healthcare system to get back the lost golden age?

How the young spend their money.

How the young spend their money

Business | Buying time.
How the young spend their money
They are woken, broke, and complicated. Businesses should take note.

DP1: It is said that to analyze the psychology of young consumers, it is best to start by considering the economy that has shaped them. What is the relationship between their psychology and the economy that they are influenced by?
DP2: It is said that young people have thin wallets and expensive tastes, they value convenience and social conscience, they want shopping to be seamless yet personal, and they are immersed in a digital world, yet authentic. How do you define the next era of consumerism by this walking paradox?

---

1. 2023/01/21(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/01/22(Sun)10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Proving a photo is fake is one thing. Proving it isn’t another.
②Roman civil engineering has lessons for the modern world.
③The destructive new logic that threatens globalization.
④Globalization, already slowing, is suffering a new assault.
⑤How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm
⑥Warnings from history for a new era of industrial policy
⑦The dollar could bring investors a nasty surprise.
⑧The hunt for FTX’s missing riches.

---

Proving a photo is fake is one thing. Proving it isn’t another.

Proving a photo is fake is one thing. Proving it isn’t is another

 Science & technology | Authenticating images
Proving a photo is fake is one thing. Proving it isn’t another.
But, for the reporting of war crimes, it matters.
 
DP1: It is said that it is difficult to prove negative evidence (that it has not been tampered with) for a fake photo, methods to prove the authenticity of digital images are very important. What is the "glass-to-glass" warning system to deal with this issue? How does it work?
DP2: What are the two core functions of this app created by eyeWitness? How does this app work?
DP3: What is Proof Mode offering glass-to-glass services? How does it work? What is the difference between Proof Mode compared to eyeWitness?
DP4: What is a new feature that the Guardian project will add? How does it work?
DP5: What are two services that Truepic offers? How does it work?
DP6: What is the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (c2pa)  that Truepic launched with Adobe, arm, BBC, Intel, and Microsoft? What is its goal?
DP7: It is said that the technology could allow an authoritarian regime to identify the device, and thus the person, who took the unfavorable photograph. we must first find a way to make such tracking impossible.
What is the best way to prevent the abuse of an authoritarian regime to transparency Technology?

Roman civil engineering has lessons for the modern world.

Roman civil engineering has lessons for the modern world

 Science & technology | Ancient concrete
Roman civil engineering has lessons for the modern world.
The concrete used was self-healing and anachronistically green.
 
DP1: Why were the Romans Masters of Architecture?
DP2: What we can lesson and learn for the modern world from Roman civil engineering?
DP3: It is said that the concrete used was self-healing in Romans Architecture and anachronistically green. How does it work?
How can we apply it in the modern world?

The destructive new logic that threatens globalization.

The destructive new logic that threatens globalisation

 Leaders | Zero-sum
The destructive new logic that threatens globalization
America is leading a dangerous global slide towards subsidies, export controls, and protectionism.
 
DP1: Why did the U.S. pursue globalization in 1960 even though it accounted for nearly 40% of the world's dollar-denominated GDP?
DP2: What is the destructive new logic that threatens globalization?
Why does the U.S. apply the logic to the world?
DP3: Why is a zero-sum policy wrong? What is the unexpected result?
DP4: What is the best way to prevent zero-sum thinking and to save the world order?

Globalization, already slowing, is suffering a new assault.

Globalisation, already slowing, is suffering a new assault

 Briefing | Efficiency is damned.
Globalization, already slowing, is suffering a new assault.
Subsidies, export controls, and curbs on foreign investment are proliferating.
 
DP1: It is said that Globalization, already slowing, is suffering a new assault by proliferating subsidies, export controls, and curbs on foreign investment.
What is the risk in this situation? What is the unexpected result after this situation?
DP2: What is the commission for foreign investment in the United States (CFIUS)? What is its role?
DP3: It is said that there is a broad consensus in Washington that, the U.S. capital should not be allowed to "enhance the technological capabilities of our competitors". Why does the U.S. begin to have such a consensus? Why does such consensus not work for a stable world economy in the future?
DP4: It is said that the zero-sum approach may or may not succeed in making the world safer for democracy, but it will certainly make the world poorer. Do you believe that the West can trade off democracy and a healthy world economy in the future?

How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm

How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm

 Business | The fuzzy corporation
How technology is redrawing the boundaries of the firm
Companies are reorganizing themselves in the wake of digital upheaval.
 
DP1: How is technology redrawing the boundaries of the firm？
DP2: What can you find in the article titled "The Nature of the Firm written in 1937 by Ronald course to understand the changes of outsourcing human resources?
DP3: Do you believe that companies are reorganizing because they are increasingly able to measure a worker's performance based on actual results, rather than time spent in production?
DP4: Do you believe that increased competition for jobs may compress salaries and cause fewer differences in wages between countries for jobs that are more likely to be outsourced?

Warnings from history for a new era of industrial policy

Warnings from history for a new era of industrial policy

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Warnings from history for a new era of industrial policy
The danger is not that America’s reshoring push fails—but that it succeeds.
 
DP1: It is said that the history of industrial policy is much like that of the industry itself. Why are Adam Smith's arguments in favor of free trade dismissed as "geometrically correct but substantially false"?
DP2: Do you support this idea that if a nation corrects market failures, certain industries may grow on their own in economies where they are underdeveloped or non-existent?
DP3: Do you believe that government support or protection from short-term foreign competition (or both) may create the space needed for the industry to mature?
DP4: Why must governments be willing to cut off aid so that the winners will eventually swim, and the losers will sink?
DP5: It is said that the danger is not that America’s reshoring push fails—but that it succeeds. What does it mean?

The dollar could bring investors a nasty surprise.

The dollar could bring investors a nasty surprise

Finance & economics | Buttonwood
The dollar could bring investors a nasty surprise.
Virtually everyone thinks the greenback will weaken.

DP1: What is about Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 and the Smithsonian agreement in 1971? Why was the currency system changed?
DP2: What are the problems that a strong dollar brings?
DP3: What are the three causes of the recent dollar appreciation?
DP4: It is said that if the dollar moves in the opposite direction, investors may be shocked. Why does everyone think the greenback will weaken?

The hunt for FTX’s missing riches.

The hunt for FTX’s missing riches

Finance & economics | Absent billions
The hunt for FTX’s missing riches.
Bankruptcy courts are not built for Sam Bankman-Fried’s mess.

DP1: It is said that Bankruptcy courts are not built for Sam Bankman-Fried’s mess. What does it mean? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP2: why is a new law not created on time to follow a new business with new financial technology?
DP3: Do you believe that AI can create new laws by trading off the interests of human beings in society?

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1. 2023/01/14(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/01/15(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①All around the world, covid surveillance is faltering.
②A realistic path to a better relationship between Britain and the EU
③Assembling a better British relationship with Europe
④How Elon Musk’s satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare
⑤Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success.
⑥How to avoid flight chaos
⑦The great mystery of American politics
⑧Can the North Sea become Europe’s new economic powerhouse?

---

All around the world, covid surveillance is faltering.

All around the world, covid surveillance is faltering

 Science & technology | Covid-19
All around the world, covid surveillance is faltering.
That, rather than the surge of cases in China, is the main reason for worry.
 
DP1: What kind of cases in which the new virus is called a variant of concern (VOC) by WHO and is given a name using the Greek alphabet?
DP2: It is said that all around the world, covid surveillance is faltering. What is the main reason for worry about this fact?
DP3: Do you believe that the failure to unlock China would cause other countries to rethink the importance of long-term surveillance?

A realistic path to a better relationship between Britain and the EU

A realistic path to a better relationship between Britain and the EU

Leaders | The end of magical thinking
A realistic path to a better relationship between Britain and the EU
The question of Europe has caused a decade of turmoil. Here’s how to use the next ten years better.
 
DP1: What is a decade of turmoil in Britain that has been caused by the question of Europe?
DP2: What are the three stages to achieving a better relationship with Europe in a realistic way?
DP3:What are needed for building a lasting relationship between the UK and the EU?

Assembling a better British relationship with Europe

Assembling a better British relationship with Europe

 Britain | Je regrette quelque chose
Assembling a better British relationship with Europe
The components are there. Putting them together will not be easy.
 
DP1: It is said that there is evidence that leaving the EU has done much damage. What is that?
DP2: It is said that there are ways to make the relationship between the UK and the EU smoother. What are these?
DP3: It is said there are many obstacles on the above path. What are these?
DP4: What are the effects of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) negotiated by Boris Johnson?
DP5: What is each approach to the EU in "Norway", "Canada." and “Switzerland”?  Which approach is best for Britain?

How Elon Musk’s satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare

How Elon Musk’s satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare

 Briefing | A murmuration of Starlinks
How Elon Musk’s satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare
And the worries about what comes next.
 
DP1: How Elon Musk’s satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare？
DP2: It is said that Starlink is the cornerstone of C4ISR in military terms.
What does C4ISR mean?
DP3: Why is Starlink the most important feature in Ukraine's military operations?
DP4: What is a good indicator that adversaries do not view Starlink as a critical vulnerability?
DP5: What is a significant advantage that Starlink has comparing others?
DP6: What are three sources of concern Musk has in both the launch market and satellite Internet operations?
DP7: It is said that Starlink has had a huge impact on Ukraine but has not been a commercial success, but if the system is to be used for military purposes, expect to pay full price from day one. Do you believe that War is a necessary evil to develop technology in the past and future?

Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success.

Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success

 Europe | Charlemagne
Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success.
Enlargement has kept Europe dynamic and relevant.
 
DP1: It is said that when the European Economic Community was established (EEC) in 1958, their combined population was just under 6% of the then world population of 3 billion. What is one thing that has remained the same after 65 years?
DP2: It is said that Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success.　What is that?
DP3: It is said that accession to the EU is sometimes described as the most successful foreign policy of the EU. However, this also belittles the fact that the countries that joined the EU strengthened the EU. Do you believe that?
DP4: It is said that before enlargement, Europe was more of a geographical expression than a common polity. Today, however, citizens of 27 countries agree that what unites them is more important than what separates them on the European continent. Why is that?

How to avoid flight chaos

How to avoid flight chaos

Business | Schumpeter
How to avoid flight chaos
Lessons from Southwest and Volaris, two highly successful airlines that ruined the holidays.
 
DP1: What is the cause of the flight chaos? How to avoid flight chaos?
DP2: Why the past success shall be an obstacle to change to solve the problems?
DP3: What are the Lessons from Southwest and Volaris, two highly successful airlines that ruined the holidays? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

The great mystery of American politics

The great mystery of American politics

 United States | Lexington
The great mystery of American politics
Why is the country divided so evenly? What might change that?
 
DP1: What is each character of the supporter in Democrats and Republicans in this century?
DP2: What is the great mystery of American politics? Why is the country divided so evenly? What might change that?
DP3: Do you believe that dividing evenly is good to check and make the balance of the power?

Can the North Sea become Europe’s new economic powerhouse?

Can the North Sea become Europe’s new economic powerhouse?

 Business | Mare industrial
Can the North Sea become Europe’s new economic powerhouse?
The continent’s most turbulent body of water is finding fresh uses.
 
DP1: Why can the North Sea become Europe’s new economic powerhouse?
DP2: Why may the North Sea power system take the form of an archipelago of "energy islands"?
DP3: What is another way to manage the variability of wind power to produce "green" fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia?
DP4: It is said that another valuable product of crossing the North Sea is information, it is building a new economic zone. How does it work?
DP5: Why are the North Sea countries ideal for data storage and processing?
DP6: What problems can be overcome to make an immeasurable impact of the new North Sea economic zone on continental Europe?
DP7: Do you believe that the continent’s most turbulent body of water is finding new uses?

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1. 2022/12/31(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2023/01/01(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Artificial intelligence and the rise of optical computing
②Jaime Yassif on the need for better safeguarding of bioscience
③How Bernard Arnault became the world’s richest person
④The great inflation of the 1500s is echoing eerily today
⑤Deadly, dirty, indispensable: the nitrogen industry has changed the world

---

Artificial intelligence and the rise of optical computing

Artificial intelligence and the rise of optical computing

 Science & technology | Information technology
Artificial intelligence and the rise of optical computing
Photonic data processing is well-suited to the age of deep learning
 
DP1:What is each role of electrons and photons in modern information technology (IT)? What are features of photons that are better than electrons?
DP2: What is a new optical architecture that uses analog rather than digital arithmetic?
DP3:Why is linear algebra the basis of artificial neural networks, which in turn is the basis of machine learning, or artificial intelligence (AI)?
DP4:What is hybrid "modulators" that take advantage of the parallelism of optical input (100 times more than electronics allow)?
DP5: What is the biggest advantage of using hybrid optical devices? What are other advantages to using it?
DP6: How can we create a multimode fiber altering the behavior of the light passing through it in a nonlinear manner?
DP7: How do you create optical devices without any electrons? What is the advantage of using it?
DP8: Why is the future of optical computing quite bright?

Jaime Yassif on the need for better safeguarding of bioscience

Jaime Yassif on the need for better safeguarding of bioscience

By Invitation | Biotechnology
Jaime Yassif on the need for better safeguarding of bioscience
An expert says bad-faith actors can too easily get hold of dangerous biotechnology
 
DP1:Why can bad-faith actors too easily get hold of dangerous biotechnology?
DP2:Why is better safeguarding of bioscience needed?
DP3: What is International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) that is launched as a new independent international organization?

How Bernard Arnault became the world’s richest person

How Bernard Arnault became the world’s richest person

Business | Schumpeter
How Bernard Arnault became the world’s richest person
The lord of luxury is a model European capitalist—but with American characteristics
 
DP1: It is said that Mr. Arnault, the first European to reach the top of the world's richest list, is in many ways a symbol of the way business was done on the Old Continent. What are characters of his business?
DP2: It is said that the 73-year-old Arnault is no tech tycoon, he, too, has remade the business world.  How did he remake the business world?
DP3: It is said that lvmh has a weakness. What is it?
DP4: It is said that no one knows better than this extravagant lord the value of preserving the family's silver. What does it mean?

The great inflation of the 1500s is echoing eerily today

The great inflation of the 1500s is echoing eerily today

 Christmas Specials | When money dies
The great inflation of the 1500s is echoing eerily today
Inflations past have lessons for today
 
DP1: It is said that the situation changed drastically after 1500. Within 50 years, average prices across England had doubled. What is the cause of this inflation?
 DP2: Why was the nation collapse on a massive scale between 1550 and 1650?
 DP3: It is said that the lessons from the last 100 years are clear, whatever the cause, a society that allows inflation to continue unchecked must expect to be debased above its standard of living. How can we stop inflation?

Deadly, dirty, indispensable: the nitrogen industry has changed the world

Deadly, dirty, indispensable: the nitrogen industry has changed the world

 Christmas Specials | The wibbly-wobbly circle of life
Deadly, dirty, indispensable: the nitrogen industry has changed the world
It lays waste to ecosystems, allows wars to kill millions, and has kept billions from starvation
 
 DP1: What does Fixing nitrogen mean? How can it be nitrogen-containing compounds be used as the basis for agriculture and industry?
DP2: It is said that ammonia is used in a variety of applications. What are those?
DP3:It is said that the Haber-Bosch process, which feeds 8 billion people, is one of the prerequisites for modernization, without the Haber-Bosch process, it is estimated that 30-50% of the world's harvest would be lost.
What is the Haber-Bosch process?
DP4: It is said that Nitrogen is available wherever bacteria capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen are present. Why is that? How does it work?
DP5: Why are bacteria much better chemists than Haber, Bosch, or their human successors?
DP6: It is said that adding nitrogen to an ecosystem is hard work but removing nitrogen from an ecosystem is a piece of cake. Why is that?
How does it work?
DP7: What is the second agricultural revolution that is the conversion from extractive to productive agriculture?
DP8: It is said that chemists in the late 19th century came up with a variety of compounds that went beyond plant nutrition and dyes. What are those?
DP9: It is said that humans have been eager to fertilize the land and have greatly increased nitrogen fixation around the world but have done nothing to increase the rate of denitrification. As a result, the fixed nitrogen is accumulating in the soils and waters of the earth, just as carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere, nitrogen oxides in the air increase ozone concentrations and threaten human health and agricultural health on the ground. How can we prevent such a situation?
DP10: It is said that if we consider moving from a macroscopic one, with human intervention in the cycle, to a microscopic one, with bacteria on our side, it will allow crops to obtain the same amount of nitrogen as they currently get from fertilizers, with much less loss from the surrounding environment. How can we apply this theory in the real world?
DP11: It is said that it is a radical rethinking, appropriate to an age in which biological rather than chemical methods (Haber-Bosch) are more important, in which the environment is treated not as a mere resource but as part of a process, and in which what is not used is discarded. Do you believe that the biological method is possible to be applied in the modern society that is accustomed to using chemical methods?

---

1. 2022/12/24(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/12/25(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Controlled fusion is a little nearer now than it was a week ago
②Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?
③How the West fell out of love with economic growth
④A looming Russian offensive
⑤A corruption scandal leaves the EU reeling
⑥The strange case of Britain’s demise
⑦The insidious threats to central-bank independence

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Controlled fusion is a little nearer now than it was a week ago

Controlled fusion is little nearer now than it was a week ago

Science & technology | A brouhaha about fusion
Controlled fusion is a little nearer now than it was a week ago
Despite exciting reports, the NIF’s announcement will not lead to civil fusion reactors

DP1: Despite excited reports, why will the NIF’s announcement not lead to civil fusion reactors?
DP2: What are the exciting reports about fusion reactors?
DP3: What is the main purpose of the NIF that is part of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory? Why is it created?
DP4: Why are now private companies with real ideas and real money pursuing fusion power even though the old joke that fusion power is 30 years away has been repeated?
DP5: What are many commercial projects that are based on tokamaks established in the 1950s?
DP6: Why is it hard to imagine the future of commercial fusion power if it is based on inertial confinement with lasers?

Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?

Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?

Leaders | I say go, go, go!
Why are the rich world’s politicians giving up on economic growth?
Even when they say they want more prosperity, they act as if they don’t

DP1: What was the golden age of growth in the second half of the 20th century?
DP2: Why are Election manifestos not as growth-oriented as they once were? Why has the appetite for reform been lost?
DP3: Why do Today's leaders believe that industrial policy, protectionism, and bailouts are the path to economic success?
DP4: It is said that without growth, the rich democracies will lose their economic vitality and weaken on the world stage. What is the best policy to accelerate growth?

How the West fell out of love with economic growth

How the West fell out of love with economic growth

Finance & economics | First-world problems
How the West fell out of love with economic growth
A serious, slow-burning malaise

DP1: It is said that during the 1980s and 1990s, politicians in developed countries implemented many reforms that made their economies smarter.
Why was it easier to implement difficult reforms?
DP2: Why have the U.S. and Europe moved away from growth? Why are modern politicians less likely to tout the benefits of free markets and more likely to exhibit anti-growth sentiments, such as aggressive references to government control of the economy?
DP3: It is said that instead of accepting the pain of the present at the cost of a brighter future, politicians are more interested in avoiding a repeat of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.
Do you believe that it is an appropriate policy?

 

A looming Russian offensive

A looming Russian offensive

Leaders | War in Ukraine
A looming Russian offensive
Ukraine’s chiefs, in an unprecedented series of briefings, tell The Economist about the critical months that lie ahead

DP1: Why would the freeze of the war in Ukraine repeat the failure of the three years leading up to the invasion on February 24, 2022?
DP2: What is the greatest responsibility of the Western powers in this war? What is the best way to accomplish it?
DP3: It is said that Russian forces could drive back Ukrainian troops and make a renewed attempt to retake the capital, Kyiv. Do you believe that Ukraine can prevent the Russian attempt?
DP4: It is said that the entire world, including Russia, will benefit if the restorationist idea of recreating the old Russian empire is frustrated.
Do you believe that it is possible for Putin to give up the restorationist idea?

A corruption scandal leaves the EU reeling

A corruption scandal leaves the EU reeling

Europe | Charlemagne
A corruption scandal leaves the EU reeling
Suitcases of cash make good Christmas presents

DP1: What is a corruption scandal that leaves the EU reeling?  Why will this week's irregularities disrupt the European Parliament's efforts to curb corruption in the 27 EU member states?
DP2: Why do suitcases of cash make good Christmas presents?
DP3: It is said that the European Parliament is of little importance in politics, its job is to put a veneer of democratic legitimacy over the strange contraption that is the EU, it will have to sort out this mess before it can seek further powers. How should they sort out the mess?

The strange case of Britain’s demise

The strange case of Britain’s demise

Britain | A historical mystery
The strange case of Britain’s demise
A country that prided itself on stability has seemed to be in free fall. Whodunnit?

DP1: What is the strange case of Britain’s demise?
DP2: It is said that Britain which prided itself on stability appears to be in free fall. Who is the culprit?
DP3: It is said that violence was added to politics, the most daring is Brexit, which received 52% support in the referendum. What is the cause of this phenomenon?
DP4: It is said that "electoral dictatorship" in a government with a secure majority in the House of Commons is the ambiguous and weak restraints on the British executive. It is said that the House of Lords, which is responsible for scrutinizing legislation, is a prime example of that deception in an absurd backroom deal in 1999.
Will Britain be able to reform its notorious political system?
DP5: What are the "good chaps" theories? Why did the mob discover that the rule of law is a trick based on trust and that a few shoves could eliminate much of the flimsy act of supervision?
DP6: It is said that there is a more long-standing problem, the biased education system in Britain.
What are serious issues in this education system that decrease long-term productivity?
DP7: It is said that "The very ingenious quality of the English is their habit of not killing each other. What are past examples that you can find the characters?
DP8: It is said that the main causes of Britain's misfortunes are more likely to be found in school reports than in crime scenes and ultimately, it was a lack of effort. What is the best strategy to stop Britain be into free fall?

The insidious threats to central-bank independence

The insidious threats to central-bank independence

Finance & economics | Free exchange
The insidious threats to central-bank independence
Meddling politicians are mostly a thing of the past, but that is no reason for complacency

DP1: Why was central-bank independence needed in the case of monetary policy in1970s?
DP2: How has been the ECB's independence guaranteed by the European Commission?
DP3: What are three forces that insidiously threaten the independence of central banks in a new way?
DP4: It is said that the independence of monetary policy from politics appears to be wavering. What is the good balance between the independence of monetary policy and the interests of politics?

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1. 2022/12/17(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/12/18(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Ukrainian ingenuity is ushering in a new form of warfare at sea
②Artificial intelligence is permeating business at last
③Investing in an era of higher interest rates and scarcer capital
④Rising interest rates and inflation have upended investing
⑤Canada’s constitution is being trampled by populists
⑥How to invigorate Britain’s second-tier cities
⑦Why Italy, like Europe, is crying out for big reform
⑧External shocks have hit the Italian economy hard
⑨Why is Italy’s public debt burden so big?
➉Political instability in Italy has always affected reform

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Ukrainian ingenuity is ushering in a new form of warfare at sea

Ukrainian ingenuity is ushering in a new form of warfare at sea

Science & technology | Naval drones
Ukrainian ingenuity is ushering in a new form of warfare at sea
Are uncrewed attack vessels the wave of the future?

DP1: Do you believe Naval drones are ushering in a new form of warfare at sea?
DP2: How can you stop the drones that are used as a military force?
DP3: What is the "hunting algorithm" that engineers at the Chinese Academy of Weapons Engineering are working on building? How can we deal with this algorithm to prevent attacks from drones?

Artificial intelligence is permeating business at last

Artificial intelligence is permeating business at last

Business | Generating buzz
Artificial intelligence is permeating business at last
The age of “boring AI” will be anything but

DP1: It is said that Artificial intelligence is permeating business at last.
What are several examples of this phenomenon?
Why is AI accepted in modern society?
DP2: What are two great potentials for business AI algorithms?
DP3: Why must companies tread AI carefully when deploying more AI as with any powerful new tool? What are the biggest concerns to treat AI?
DP4: Why does only a quarter of respondents to the AI survey say that AI contributed to their bottom line (defined as a 5% boost to revenue)?

Investing in an era of higher interest rates and scarcer capital

Investing in an era of higher interest rates and scarcer capital

Leaders | The new rules in financial markets
Investing in an era of higher interest rates and scarcer capital
Prepare for impatient investors and pain in private markets—but also higher returns

DP1:How do you invest in an era of higher interest rates and scarcer capital? What are the new rules in financial markets?
DP2: What are three key points that Investors need to focus on to adapt to the new rules?
DP3: How do you prepare to get higher returns under the circumstances that many investors will have to deal with the new regime of rising interest rates and capital shortages?

Rising interest rates and inflation have upended investing

Rising interest rates and inflation have upended investing

Briefing | When the tide turns
Rising interest rates and inflation have upended investing
Not all assets have been affected equally

DP1: It is said that the market plunge was the result of the collapse of a decades-long macroeconomic regime, as a result, the investment rulebook is being rewritten. What is the investment new rulebook?
DP2: It is said that a paradigm shift is underway that is much bigger than just rising interest rates and inflation. What is the paradigm shift? How does it influence us?
DP3: It is said that we may be entering a period in which "wealth as we know it will be almost completely destroyed," as in the period between 1910 and 1945. What is the new standard of wealth after the destruction?

Canada’s constitution is being trampled by populists

Canada’s constitution is being trampled by populists

Leaders | Charter fights
Canada’s constitution is being trampled by populists
The “notwithstanding clause” lets politicians nullify citizens’ rights. It needs to go

DP1: What is the “notwithstanding clause” (Section 33) in Canada’s constitution politicians nullify citizens’ rights?  What is an example of the clause used past in Canada?
DP2: It is said that Article 33 should be repealed if Canada is a country with democratic instincts. What alternative solution if they cannot repeal it?
DP3: Do you believe that the politician needs a clause such as article 33 to control the nation?

How to invigorate Britain’s second-tier cities

How to invigorate Britain’s second-tier cities

Leaders | Free the north
How to invigorate Britain’s second-tier cities
One superstar city does not have a successful economy make

DP1: What are the deep-seated problems that 11 second-tier cities in the UK face?
DP2: What is the best solution to invigorate Britain’s second-tier cities?  Why does one superstar city alone not have a successful economy make?
DP3: It is said that much more could be accomplished if politicians got a few relatively simple things right. What are three priorities that politicians should accomplish?
DP4: It is said that the system of monetary redistribution is needed to invigorate the economy in the country. Do you believe that advanced AI technology helps to create the system?

Why Italy, like Europe, is crying out for big reform

Why Italy, like Europe, is crying out for big reform

Leaders | The Italian job
Why Italy, like Europe, is crying out for big reform
Giorgia Meloni needs to be bold. Sadly, she appears reluctant

DP1: Why is Italy, like Europe, crying out for big reform? What are the three major problems in Italy?
DP2: It is said that Meloni has largely adhered to the reforms favored by the EU, but her instincts seem to be too strongly toward supporting protectionism rather than promoting freer markets and liberalization, if she does not engage in deeper reforms, Italy's problems will only get worse.
What are deeper reforms?
DP3: What is the best solution to trade off the present visible interests of the public and invisible benefits for future society while keeping the position as a politician?

External shocks have hit the Italian economy hard

External shocks have hit the Italian economy hard

Special report | The cost of vulnerability
External shocks have hit the Italian economy hard
They have also exacerbated internal weaknesses

DP1: Why was the Italian economy strong from the 1950s through the 1990s?
DP2: By the late 1990s, why was Italy difficult to maintain the high productivity growth it had achieved during the 1960s and 1970s?
DP3: What are the convergence criteria in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that were necessary for the creation of the single European currency, the euro, in 1999?
DP4: Why was Italy right to join the euro?
DP5: What is the reason for the loss of competitiveness under the Berlusconi administration from 2001 to 2006?
DP6: What external shocks hit the Italian economy hard from 2001 to 2020? What is the cost of vulnerability?
DP7: What monetary and fiscal policies in Italy led to the main weakness of the economy: lack of growth?
DP8: Why is it unlikely that Meloni's administration will be as at the mercy of Brussels as her predecessor?

Why is Italy’s public debt burden so big?

Why is Italy’s public-debt burden so big?

Special report | Spreadeagled
Why is Italy’s public debt burden so big?
It is the denominator, not the numerator, that is the real problem

DP1: Why has the fiction of Italian fiscal profligacy not reflected reality since 2000?
DP2: Why is it not fair to blame Italy for not collecting enough taxes to finance public spending?
DP3: It is said that to answer why is Italy's public debt burden so big. looking at the denominator (GDP), not the numerator (debt) shall be the answer. What does it mean?
DP4: It is said that the best solution to Italy's debt problem is not further fiscal austerity, but rather new growth. What is the best policy for new growth? 

Political instability in Italy has always affected reform

Political instability in Italy has always affected reform

Special report | Italy’s bane
Political instability in Italy has always affected reform
Can Giorgia Meloni stay in power long enough to buck the trend?

DP1: What is the character of Meloni's administration?
DP2: Why does Meloni seem unlikely to become the Margaret Thatcher of Italy?
DP3: It is said that the bigger issue for the Italian government is its approach to liberalization reform. It is said that the history of state intervention in Italy is not a long one, it masks the larger question of whether the government has the will to tackle vested interests that constantly obstruct reform. What is the best solution to deal with this issue in Italy? 
DP4: It is said that historically, the right has been more successful in staying in power than the left. Why is that?
DP5: If Political instability in Italy has always affected reform, what is the best solution to make political stability for reforming?

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1. 2022/12/10(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/12/11(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Lessons from Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine
②Why Russia’s cyber-attacks have fallen flat
③Two new books explore the upside of big data and AI
④How will America deal with three-way nuclear deterrence?
⑤America’s green subsidies are causing headaches in Europe
⑥The new winners and losers in business
⑦A playbook from the 1980s for dealing with inflation

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Lessons from Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine

Lessons from Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine

 Science & technology | Cyberwarfare
Lessons from Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine
It has been intense, but not always effective. Why?
 
DP1: What is Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine? What are the Lessons and learns from them?
DP2: Why has Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine been intense, but not always effective?
DP3: It is said that the war demonstrates "the serious limitations of cyber as a wartime capability. What are the limitations?
DP4: What are the most important wartime cyber operations?

Why Russia’s cyber-attacks have fallen flat

Why Russia’s cyber-attacks have fallen flat

 Leaders | Lessons from the cyber-front
Why Russia’s cyber-attacks have fallen flat
Ukraine benefited from good preparation and lots of help
 
DP1: It is said that war is a testing ground for new technologies.
What kind of technologies had been tested in the war? What are the lessons and learns from the war?
DP2: Why Russia’s cyber-attacks have fallen flat?
DP3: What are the lessons and learns from the cyber-front?

Two new books explore the upside of big data and AI

Two new books explore the upside of big data and AI

 Culture | The algorithm’s mercy
Two new books explore the upside of big data and AI
They are a refreshing counterbalance to alarmist commentary
 
DP1: It is said that AI can produce distorted and harmful results. However, it can also be used to fight inequality and discrimination, if used in the right way. What is the right way to use AI?
DP2: What are the “Hawkmoth Effect”, ”butterfly effect, and "Cummings effect that is challenging to forecast by AI? What is the best solution to deal with these issues?
DP3: What is a healthy realism about data, algorithms, and their limitations?

How will America deal with three-way nuclear deterrence?

How will America deal with three-way nuclear deterrence?

 United States | And then there were three
How will America deal with three-way nuclear deterrence?
It risks a new arms race, not only against Russia but also against China

 DP1: It is said that by the 2030s, for the first time in its history, the United States will face two major nuclear powers' strategic competitors and potential adversaries. How does the U.S. deal with the "three-body problem" of astrophysics?
DP2: It is said that February 4, 2026, the last day of New START, could be the beginning of a new nuclear arms race. Why is it said like the above?
DP3: It is said that instead of falling into a nuclear spiral, the U.S. should concentrate on competing in new technological areas such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. Why can the U.S. not get out of falling into a nuclear spiral?

America’s green subsidies are causing headaches in Europe

America’s green subsidies are causing headaches in Europe

Europe | Charlemagne
America’s green subsidies are causing headaches in Europe
A transatlantic trade rift is brewing

DP1: It is said that America’s green subsidies ("Inflation Control Act" )are causing headaches in Europe. What are three strategies for Europe to deal with these headaches? What are the negative impacts on Europe by these?
DP2: It is said that Europe has been burned by U.S. policies, and it has helped to create the spark. What does it mean?
DP3: It is said that Europe has been pushing the world to follow its lead in reducing carbon emissions, but it is brewing A transatlantic trade rift.
Do you believe that attempting future social benefits cannot trade off the interests of politicians and the benefits of Globalism?

The new winners and losers in business

The new winners and losers in business

Business | Who won the pandemic?
The new winners and losers in business
Which American companies have thrived or dived in a testing economy?

DP1: Why are there drawbacks to evaluating performance by stock price?
DP2: What are three phases we divide the period that business success is built into market prices to understand how investor perceptions have changed over time? Which industries have thrived or dived in these phases?
DP3: What are the best performing industries Looking back over the past three years?
DP4: What kind of ability is required for the companies to become a differentiator for performance in the new era of high-interest rates?

A playbook from the 1980s for dealing with inflation

A playbook from the 1980s for dealing with inflation

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
A playbook from the 1980s for dealing with inflation
Do today’s politicians have the stomach?

DP1: What are three hard lessons for today's policymakers from the experience of the 1980s?
DP2: It is said that many policymakers are reluctant to tighten the tax and fiscal screws again after the austerity of the 2010s. Are today's policymakers willing to take on this battle?
DP3: It is said that the policymakers are ignoring the basic lessons of the 1980s, fighting inflation is difficult. Do you believe that they take a special place in the history books for their failure to rein in inflation?  What can we do to prevent their failure to ruin inflation?

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1. 2022/12/03(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/12/04(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Adding bacteria can make concrete greener
②Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics
③The costs and consequences of Europe’s energy crisis are growing
④European politicians should steal more of their neighbors’ best ideas
⑤Should rich countries pay for climate damage in poor ones?
⑥Congress should act now to protect Dreamers
⑦Amazon makes a new push into healthcare

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Adding bacteria can make concrete greener

Adding bacteria can make concrete greener

Science & technology | Biocement
Adding bacteria can make concrete greener
They offer ways to produce cement without releasing carbon dioxide

DP1:Why can be adding bacteria make concrete greener? What is biomineralization? How does it work? How do you create bio concrete?
DP2: Why has the U.S. Department of Defense expressed interest in the uses of bio-cement?
DP3: Why does bacterial formulation heal cracks in concrete? How does it work? 

Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics

Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics

Leaders | Frozen out
Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics
This will weaken it and threaten its global position

DP1: It is said that Europe faces an enduring crisis of energy and geopolitics. What is this crisis?
DP2: Why will this crisis weaken Europe and threaten its global position?
DP3: What is the best strategy to deal with this crisis?

The costs and consequences of Europe’s energy crisis are growing

The costs and consequences of Europe’s energy crisis are growing

Briefing | Chilling prospects
The costs and consequences of Europe’s energy crisis are growing
Despite appearances, the worst is yet to come

DP1: It is said that the recession that had been feared did not occur because of no indication that Europe will have a less severe winter than imagined a few months ago. But is said that the European crisis is not over before it began. What is the reason behind supporting this opinion?
DP2: It is said that Energy is at the center of the European continent's misery. What are three of Europe's strategies to deal with this issue?
DP3: It is said that the generous support not only discourages Europeans from saving energy, but it also puts pressure on government budgets.
Why is there little debate as to whether these policies are an effective use of public funds and how they will be paid for?
DP4: It is said that the concentration on energy is taking up all the time and attention of European politicians, which leads them to neglect other policymaking. What is other policymaking? What can they do to prevent the worst consequences of Europe’s energy crisis?

European politicians should steal more of their neighbors’ best ideas

European politicians should steal more of their neighbours’ best ideas

Europe | Charlemagne
European politicians should steal more of their neighbors’ best ideas
Here are some to start with

DP1: What are six policies that have worked well in one country that might be helpful?
DP2: It is said the EU is a good environment for the spread of good ideas from individual member states. However, once a problem is identified, why does the EU often devise a new uniform policy that can be applied throughout the EU?
DP3: Why should European politicians steal more of their neighbors’ best ideas?

Should rich countries pay for climate damage in poor ones?

Should rich countries pay for climate damage in poor ones?

International | Loss and damage
Should rich countries pay for climate damage in poor ones?
That question dominated this year’s big climate summit

DP1: It is said that this summit has created a "vault." However, it is unclear how much money will go into it. Why is it historically unwise for poor countries to expect too much? Should rich countries pay for climate damage in poor ones?
DP2: What is a new Global Climate Mitigation Trust" that IMF which is the international lender of last resort proposes to establish?  How does it work?
DP3: It is said that the emission reductions, adaptation to global warming, and compensation for the damage caused by climate change are all related, more decarbonization will reduce the costs of adaptation, and less will be spent on post-disaster recovery, but one of the lessons learned from cop27 is that the world has not yet figured out how to do all three at the same time.
What is the best way to deal with the above all three at the same time?

Congress should act now to protect Dreamers

Congress should act now to protect Dreamers

United States | Lexington
Congress should act now to protect Dreamers
The lame-duck session is America’s best chance to honor its obligation to child immigrants

DP1: Why Should Congress act now to protect Dreamers? Why is the lame-duck session America’s best chance to honor its obligation to child immigrants?
DP2: What is the eligibility for DACA(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)?
DP3: It is said that the Senate exists to make these difficult compromises on important issues such as DACA, federal funding, and the defense of Ukraine. What should they do if the Senate fails to act during the lame-duck period on such important issues?
DP4: Why can America not solve the immigration issues even though most American was immigrants before?

Amazon makes a new push into healthcare

Amazon makes a new push into health care

 Business | Prime of life
Amazon makes a new push into healthcare
It might be its riskiest business venture yet
 
DP1: What is primary care? It is said that about half of Generation z and Millennial Americans don't have a primary care physician. Why does Amazon Clinic regard this area as a business chance?
DP2: Why might Amazon's new healthcare business be its riskiest business venture? What are these risks to entering the medical field for Amazon Clinic?
DP3: What is the major contribution to society by the Amazon Clinic?
DP4: It is said that health care is the biggest, most lucrative, and hellishly difficult business in America, and major high-tech companies seeking "great opportunities" in new areas.
What is the best strategy for them to share the market?

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1. 2022/11/26(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/11/27(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Is this the end of crypto?
②The failure of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried will leave deep scars
③From GE to FTX, beware the Icarus complex
④FTX’s failure and SoftBank’s struggles point to a tech investing hangover
⑤What Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall means for effective altruism
⑥The race to reinvent the car industry
⑦Even a global recession may not bring down inflation
⑧Why Indonesia matters
⑨Indonesia is poised for a boom—politics permitting

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Is this the end of crypto?

Is this the end of crypto?

Leaders | Crypto’s downfall
Is this the end of crypto?
The collapse of FTX has dealt a catastrophic blow to crypto’s reputation and aspirations
 
DP1: It is said that the rapid collapse of FTX has dealt a devastating blow to an industry with a history of failure and scandal. What happened before in this industry?
DP2: It is said that the question now is whether crypto can be used for anything other than fraud and speculation. What is the advantage and disadvantage of using the technology for Crypto?
DP3: It is said that Crypto skeptics should acknowledge that no one can predict which innovations will bear fruit and which will not. What does it mean?
DP4: It is said that regulators should follow two principles rather than over-regulate or eliminate crypto. What are the two principles?
DP5:Do you believe that technology for Crypto is necessary for modern society to keep democracy? What is the meaning of the existence of Crypto?

The failure of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried will leave deep scars

The failure of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried will leave deep scars

Briefing | Crypto’s crisis
The failure of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried will leave deep scars
It is harder now to assert that crypto represents the future

DP1: Why will the failure of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried leave deep scars?DP2: What is the cause of the failure of FTX?
DP3: It is said that it turned out that Mr. Bankman-Fried was actually running one of the most dubious casinos of all. Now that his empire is in ruins, crypto advocates must hope that it is the turn of the underlying technology to shine. What does it mean? What is the contribution of Technology Crypto to Society?

From GE to FTX, beware the Icarus complex

From GE to FTX, beware the Icarus complex

Business | Schumpeter
From GE to FTX, beware the Icarus complex
The guardians of American capitalism too often fall for too-good-to-be-true narratives

DP1: What are the differences and similarities between GE's legendary former CEO, the late Jack Welch, and FTX's disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried?
DP2: Why do the guardians of American capitalism too often fall for too-good-to-be-true narratives?
DP3: It is said that if you read Cohan's 800-page magnum opus, Power Failure, about the company founded as GE in 1892, it is easy to see how important good people are to business success, and how that excellence can be a dangerous weakness. What is the best way to correctly judge someone without bias?

FTX’s failure and SoftBank’s struggles point to a tech investing hangover

FTX’s failure and SoftBank’s struggles point to a tech investing hangover

Business | After the party
FTX’s failure and SoftBank’s struggles point to a tech investing hangover
After the turbocharged years, problems may be emerging for venture capitalists

DP1: It is said that VC investing is all about taking risks, an investor might expect only two companies out of a portfolio of 10 to succeed, hoping that the star companies' outsized returns will compensate for their unsuccess.
What are the three types of risks for VC investing?
DP2: It is said that FTX’s failure and SoftBank’s struggles point to a tech investing hangover, and the hangover from 2021 has only just begun.
What is the best medicine for the hangover?

What Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall means for effective altruism

What Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall means for effective altruism

Briefing | EA Games
What Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall means for effective altruism
FTX’s implosion puts the movement in the spotlight

DP1: What does "risk neutrality ", which economist Tyler Cowen mentioned mean? What does the "St. Petersburg paradox," mean?
DP2: It is said that Mr. Bankman Fried had promised to donate his lifetime earnings and had invested funds in effective altruistic activities to make this happen, but his downfall broke that promise. Why did Mr. Bankman-Fried's fall come as such a shock? what is effective altruism now?
DP3: It is said that for altruism's long-term prospects, losing trust may be even more damaging than losing funding, and altruism requires more than just new money, also needs new ideas. What are new ideas for altruism?

The race to reinvent the car industry

The race to reinvent the car industry

Business | Changing the wheels
The race to reinvent the car industry
Can carmakers catch up with Tesla and pull off the shift to software?

DP1: It is said that this revolution will no doubt be beneficial to digitally native automakers like Nio and Tesla, but there will also be casualties, especially for existing automakers with an entrenched culture of mechanical engineering. What are the differences between the old hardware world and the new software world from the viewpoint of the organization and the development of the products?
DP2: It is said that the automakers were almost integrators, the more software there is, the harder it becomes to get all the pieces to work together. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP3: It is said that it is not easy to achieve collaboration between mechanical engineers, who still dominate the industry today, and software engineers, who will increasingly take the lead. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP4: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a vertical and horizontal approach to deal with the organizational challenges for software and hardware development?
DP5: It is said that they hope to avoid the fate of PC makers, who have been turned into unprofitable commoditized businesses by high-tech giants who have intervened between their products and their customers. What is a dilemma with collaboration?
DP6: Which one can win the race to digitalization in the auto industry, established companies? or startups?

Even a global recession may not bring down inflation

Even a global recession may not bring down inflation

Finance & economics | Persistent prices
Even a global recession may not bring down inflation
The world economy is slowing dangerously

DP1: Why is it said that a global recession may not stop bringing down inflation? Why is it said that the world economy is slowing dangerously?
DP2: It is said that global inflation is increasing, rather than settling, on three dimensions: breadth, wages, and expectations. What are the details of the three dimensions?
DP3: It is said that inflation will continue to rise even as the economy slows. In that case, policymakers will have strict choices. What are these choices? What is the best solution to deal with the above situation?

Why Indonesia matters

Why Indonesia matters

Leaders | South-East Asia
Why Indonesia matters
Indonesia is back on the map. In the next decade, it will only become more important

DP1: What are three major reasons for Indonesia's growing power?
DP2: What are three risks for Indonesia's growth in the next decade?
DP3: Why will Indonesia only become more important in the next decade?

Indonesia is poised for a boom—politics permitting

Indonesia is poised for a boom—politics permitting

Briefing | Thousand-island progressing
Indonesia is poised for a boom—politics permitting
Inconsistent policymaking may yet undermine its progress
 
DP1: What are the three forces boosting Indonesia's economic prospects?
DP2: What are two major risks that remain that could derail this welcome trajectory?
DP3: It is said that Indonesia`s nickel deposits alone are almost certain to play a leading role in the electric vehicle industry, which is in the early stages of a decades-long expansion. Do you believe that Indonesian politicians can get unusually prescient by overcoming political risks?

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1. 2022/11/19(Sat) 10:30 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/11/20(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Humanoid robots are getting close to reality
②Imagining peace in Ukraine
③On what terms could the war in Ukraine stop?
④Donors are already mulling a Marshall Plan for Ukraine
⑤A sleuth’s guide to the coming wave of corporate fraud
⑥Even with political gridlock, America Inc should still fear the bossy state
⑦Interest rates have risen sharply. But is monetary policy truly tight?

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Humanoid robots are getting close to reality

Humanoid robots are getting close to reality

Science & technology | Robotics
Humanoid robots are getting close to reality
Walking, talking machines will soon act as guides, companions, and deliverers

DP1: It is said that humanoid robots are getting close to reality. What is the biggest concerned issues to making it to close to reality?
DP2: It is said that Honda's small humanoid robot Asimo was considered the most advanced in the world in the 1980s. Why did it not ignite to expand its production whole over the world?
DP3: It is said that small, powerful actuators to achieve non-injuring others in a robot do not yet exist. If it exists in the future, do you accept the small humanoid robot as a human in society?

Imagining peace in Ukraine

Imagining peace in Ukraine

Leaders | War in Ukraine
Imagining peace in Ukraine
How a stable and successful country could emerge from the trauma of Russia’s invasion

DP1: Why does Ukraine's victory depend not only on the size of its territory but also on the soundness of its democracy?
DP2: It is said that if Putin creates a failed state in Ukraine, NATO members will be his next target. What should we do to prevent it?

On what terms could the war in Ukraine stop?

On what terms could the war in Ukraine stop?

Briefing | Finding an ending
On what terms could the war in Ukraine stop?
Pressure for peace talks is growing, even as Russia retreats from Kherson

DP1: It is said that the ever-evolving Russian offensive also poses troubling problems. What are these problems?
DP2: It is said that the exact terms of a negotiated solution will depend on what happens on the battlefield. On what terms could the war in Ukraine stop?
DP3: It is said that Putin claims that he is ready for negotiations (from the starting point that the West should recognize the theft of Ukrainian territory), but that Ukraine's Western "masters" are preventing talks. What are the obstacles to stopping the war in Ukraine?
DP4: It is said that Diplomacy is about give and take. 
Why should we not expect another Treaty of Versailles to end the Ukraine war?  What are the expected terms to stop the war in Ukraine?
DP5: A "kiev security agreement" that would provide security assistance short of a mutual defense agreement was proposed. What is it?
Do you agree with this proposal as an alternative term to stop the war in Ukraine?
DP6: Do you believe that Ukraine has a risk to fall into the Finnish situation at the end of the "Winter War" with the Soviet Union in 1940?
DP7: Biden has been concerned that a direct confrontation with Russia could lead to "World War III," and has taken care to minimize that risk.
It is said that Ukraine's fate depends on external factors beyond its control, such as the inexplicable calculations of the Russian despot and the fortitude of its friends.
What is the expected ending of the war in Ukraine to prevent "World War III"?

Donors are already mulling a Marshall Plan for Ukraine

Donors are already mulling a Marshall Plan for Ukraine

International | Rebuilding Ukraine
Donors are already mulling a Marshall Plan for Ukraine
The time to think about reconstruction is long before the fighting ends

DP1: Why was the Marshall Plan, the massive U.S. plan the catalyst for Europe's economic recovery from World War II?  
What was the difficulty of the Marshall Plan to recover Europe's economy? How does the political stakes in Marshall Plan in 1947 overcome to help rebuild and strengthen countries?
DP2: Why are there skeptics of reconstruction aid to Ukraine that point out that such funds have been of little use in war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq, or in disaster-stricken Haiti? Why is Ukraine not a country like Afghanistan or Iraq? Why does Ukraine need a Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine?
DP3: What is the biggest corruption challenge in Ukraine?
DP4: It is said that a digital system called Prozoro monitor state procurement was developed to monitor where cash goes after the 2014 Maidan revolution.
Do you believe that the system is effective to prevent corruption in Ukraine?
DP5: Why does supporting Ukraine's reconstruction show that Western tolerance is sincere and is a way for both Europe and Ukraine to be both secure and prosperous? 

A sleuth’s guide to the coming wave of corporate fraud

A sleuth’s guide to the coming wave of corporate fraud

Business | Cooking the books
A sleuth’s guide to the coming wave of corporate fraud
Mischief is cyclical—it is bred in good times and uncovered in bad times

DP1: Why is there an inverse correlation between interest rates and fraud?
DP2: Why is mischief cyclical? Why is it bred in good times and uncovered in bad times?
DP3: It is said that it is possible to narrow down fraud based on three factors, called the "fraud triangle". What are those? How do these work for fraud?
DP4: What is the appropriate accounting system to prevent cooking the books?

Even with political gridlock, America Inc should still fear the bossy state

Even with political gridlock, America Inc should still fear the bossy state

Business | Schumpeter
Even with political gridlock, America Inc should still fear the bossy state
Beware the power of one-party state governments

DP1: It is said that the Biden administration has a left-wing regulatory zeal not seen in generations past. Retaking of the Republicans in the House of Representatives could stave off the massive fiscal spending that has been dubbed "Bidenomics" and potentially reduce upward pressures on inflation and interest rates. Why may the last bulwark against overzealous regulators not be the Republican Party, but the courts?
DP2: It is said that the companies are enforced to put in the awkward position of having to satisfy both red states and blue states at the same time, and misjudging the political climate can be a big problem.
What is the best strategy to deal with this issue?

Interest rates have risen sharply. But is monetary policy truly tight?

Interest rates have risen sharply. But is monetary policy truly tight?

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Interest rates have risen sharply. But is monetary policy truly tight?
Economists debate whether interest rates need to keep pace with inflation

DP1: It is said that some economists warn that interest rates have risen more than necessary to keep prices from rising, while others say monetary policy has not actually tightened at all. Why is their latest disagreement on monetary policy so great?
DP2: Why does none of the major central banks follow the "Taylor Principle" which instructs central banks to raise interest rates more than increase in inflation rate?
DP3: What two problems to apply the Taylor Principle?
DP4: It is said that the best argument for raising interest rates, however, is probably the failure of both economic models and financial markets to forecast inflation. What does it mean?

 

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1. 2022/11/12(Sat) 10:00 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/11/13(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①The world is missing its lofty climate targets. Time for some realism
②How men with guns aggravate global hunger
③America’s defense department is looking for rogue geoengineers
④How best to bring back manufacturing
⑤What big tech and buy-out barons have in common with GE

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The world is missing its lofty climate targets. Time for some realism

The world is missing its lofty climate targets. Time for some realism

Leaders | Goodbye 1.5°C
The world is missing its lofty climate targets. Time for some realism
Global warming cannot be limited to 1.5°C

The world is going to miss the totemic 1.5°C climate target

The world is going to miss the totemic 1.5°C climate target

Briefing | An inconvenient truth
The world is going to miss the totemic 1.5°C climate target
It needs to face up to the fact

DP1: Why is it impossible for the earth to avoid a temperature increase of more than 1.5°C now?
DP2: Why do we need to be more realistic and face some harsh realities?
What are three major realities?
DP3: What is "solar geoengineering" cooling the planet? Why is it a dangerous, unrealistic way?
DP4: It is said that 0vershooting 1.5°C will not destroy the earth. Do you believe so?
DP5: What does it mean that we are going to sign even more death warrants if we go through this time without seriously considering how to put the world on a better trajectory?

A lot can be done to adapt farming to near-term climate change

A lot can be done to adapt farming to near-term climate change

Special report | Of heat and harvests
A lot can be done to adapt farming to near-term climate change
But more is still needed

DP1: Why did the world begin to take an interest in climate change since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in 1992?
DP2: Why has agriculture grown rapidly in the years since the world began to pay attention to climate change? What is “agtech” ?
DP3: It is said that much of the agricultural technology and other equipment used by farmers in developed countries is out of reach for poor farmers in developing countries. Why does agricultural technology reaching poor farmers become a highly profitable investment?

Money and moderately good governance make climate change adaptation easier

Money and moderately good governance make climate-change adaptation easier

Special report | To those who have...
Money and moderately good governance make climate change adaptation easier
Unfortunately, they are not in abundant supply

DP1: It is said that money and moderately good governance make climate-change adaptation easier. But why is this assumption applied in Kuwait, not Iraq?
DP2: What is the best way for Iraq to adopt developing a "National Adaptation Plan" (nap)?

Public money must pave the way for private investment in climate change adaptation

Public money must pave the way for private investment in climate-change adaptation

Special report | Making the money available
Public money must pave the way for private investment in climate change adaptation
Otherwise, the world will be poorly served

DP1: Why must public money pave the way for private investment in climate change adaptation otherwise the world will be poorly served?  What is the best way to pave?
DP2: It is said that developed countries are not so interested in fulfilling their obligations to distant countries, if things worsen closer to home, this issue may become even more important. Why are they not interested in fulfilling their obligations to these countries?  What are things to make worsening closer home to become this issue even more important?

Small climate projects cannot take the place of all large ones

Small climate projects cannot take the place of all large ones

Special report | The big and the little
Small climate projects cannot take the place of all large ones
But they can achieve a lot if coordinated

DP1: It is said that small climate projects cannot take the place of all large ones, but they can achieve a lot if coordinated. What are the achievements of this coordination in the Dutch measures: the Maaslantkering, the clime project by Jakarta's governor, the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network in California continues, and a well-developed warning system for the floods in Bangladesh?
DP2: It is said that it is one of the benefits of affluence to be able to respond to major risks with major engineering, which is not always the optimal response and can be damaging, Marine defense is an example.
What are several issues in the Marine defense? What is the best way to deal with these issues?

The business of businesses is a climate-change adaptation

The business of businesses is climate-change adaptation

Special report | Look around you
The business of businesses is a climate-change adaptation
Big ones are waking up to the fact

DP1:What is the climate-change adaptation by the Corporation?
DP2: What is the role of the "Spot," a bright yellow robot dog deployed by Saudi Aramco?
DP3: What are the drought and major flooding preparedness by Thames Water, the UK's largest water utility?
DP4: What are the Climate-related Financial Disclosures (tcfd) that Both Thames Water and Unilever follow for the detail of their adaptation measures in their annual reports?
DP5: It is said that for SMEs in developing countries, and for poor individuals, the problem is not a lack of willingness to adapt, but a lack of capital. What is the best way for them to draw future climate change scenarios and plan for adaptation to climate change?

The rich world is wrong to think that climate impacts in poor countries don’t matter

The rich world is wrong to think that climate impacts in poor countries don’t matter

Special report | Common sense
The rich world is wrong to think that climate impacts in poor countries don’t matter
There is a compelling moral case for rich countries to do more to help poor ones adapt

DP1: Why is the rich world wrong to think that climate impacts in poor countries don’t matter?
DP2: Somebody says that we need "deep adaptation" abandoning "assets, behaviors, and beliefs" that are futile to try to maintain. Do you agree with the philosophy?
DP3: It is said that leaders of developing countries are right to denounce the selfishness of the world and coping with not only climate change, but its damage, is everyone's problem. Do you agree with the philosophy? If so, what should we do to deal with the problem? 

The world has to adapt to climate change it will not avoid

The world has to adapt to the climate change it will not avoid

Special report | The challenge of the age
The world has to adapt to climate change it will not avoid
And poor countries will need help to do so

DP1: It is said that how well people cope when the weather changes depends on details such as geographic and political conditions and access to resources. What makes to distinguish the life of Abu Ayman in southern Iraq and his relative Muhammad Obaid?
DP2: It is said that the world must adapt to climate change it will not avoid and poor countries will need help to do so. How can we help them?

How men with guns aggravate global hunger

How men with guns aggravate global hunger

International | Bread-blocking bandits
How men with guns aggravate global hunger
Vladimir Putin’s attempt at grain blackmail highlights a wider problem

DP1: How do men with guns aggravate global hunger? How can we stop this situation?
DP2: Why does Vladimir Putin’s attempt at grain blackmail highlight a wider problem? What are the wider problems?
DP3: The UN World Food Program (WFP) notes that armed violence is the greatest obstacle to eradicating hunger. What is the best way to deal with this issue?
DP4: It is said that the expensive energy, scarce water, and war are sowing the seeds of "structural food shortages. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?
DP5: It is said that the number of malnourished infants is growing rapidly.
It is said that if you don't feed a child, that child will remain physically and mentally underdeveloped for the rest of his or her life."  It is said that Millions of children around the world will grow up less intelligent and lead poorer, less productive lives. Do you believe that these situations create men with armed violence? If so, how can we stop the negative cycle?

America’s defense department is looking for rogue geoengineers

America’s defence department is looking for rogue geoengineers

Science & technology | Rogue geoengineering
America’s defense department is looking for rogue geoengineers
AI climate models and game theory will both help

DP1: Why is America’s defense department is looking for rogue geoengineers? Why will AI climate models and game theory both help?
DP2: DARPA(The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Defense, believes that a country can modify its climate in response to the adverse effects of climate change (crop failures, severe flooding, etc.). Do you believe the idea? What two major goals of the DARPA?
DP3: It is said that unilateral geoengineering attempts will use a technique called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) from DARPA's assumption. What is the SAI technique? How does it influence the Earth?
 DP4: They say that it could trigger chaos and not just meteorological ones. How can we prevent chaos if the modification of the climate is available?
DP5: It is said that an "early warning" code to detect people who sneak in geoengineering misdeeds is developed, which they are tested by running two parallel simulations. What are two types of tests? 
DP6: It is said that the current climate change measures are clearly inadequate to reverse warming, it is increasingly likely that SAI will be implemented somewhere, and it is prudent to achieve results through "war gaming. Do you believe that that is an appropriate strategy to increase the level of technology to reverse warming?

How best to bring back manufacturing

How best to bring back manufacturing

Finance & economics | Free exchange
How best to bring back manufacturing
The unexpected importance of immigration

DP1: What is the best way to bring back manufacturing?
DP2: What are two categories that the argument for onshoring falls into to subsidize domestic production?
DP3: What is the key factor to distinguish the winner of the competition between Japan and the USA during 1980S-1990S? What is the unexpected importance of immigration?
DP4: Even though manufacturing may spur innovation, why does it not justify the huge cost of subsidies?

What big tech and buy-out barons have in common with GE

What big tech and buy-out barons have in common with GE

Business | Conglomerates spreads
What big tech and buy-out barons have in common with GE
Unaccountable bosses, declining returns on capital, and fed-up investors

DP1: It is said that corporate managers fear that the "conglomerate discount" will incite activist investors to sell the company. What is the "conglomerate discount"?
DP2: It is said that while the old disease of conglomerates has gone into remission, it is also true that a new disease is emerging. What is a new disease?
DP3: It is said that high-tech executives are loathed to utter the "C-word" (confidentiality). What are the differences and similarities between the old conglomerates and the new ones?
DP4: It is said that now, for the new conglomerates, the magic is wearing off, it is financial engineering, not management know-how, that has increased private equity returns. What does it mean?
DP5: It is said that Mr. Zuckerberg controls Meta thanks to its dual class of shares, but he does not seem to heed the dire cries of investors. Nothing is more typical of a symptom of a conglomerate than an unaccountable boss with empire-building ambitions. How can you figure out the future of the Meta by this symptom?

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1. 2022/11/05(Sat) 10:30 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/11/06(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
①Battery-makers are powering a circular economy
②Scientists dispute a suggestion that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered
③The risks of Bidenomics go beyond inflation
④Joe Biden attempts the biggest overhaul of America’s economy in decades
⑤How to escape scientific stagnation

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Battery-makers are powering a circular economy

Battery-makers are powering a circular economy

 
Leaders | A virtuous circle
Battery-makers are powering a circular economy
“Gigafactories” are being designed to recycle raw materials
 
DP1: It is said that in just 50 years, the world's consumption of raw materials has nearly quadrupled, and less than 9% of this is reused, representing a huge waste of materials. What is the cause of the low recycling rate? What is the best solution to this issue?
DP2: What industries are needed to increase the recycling rate? How do they solve this issue?

Gigafactories are recycling old EV batteries into new ones

Gigafactories are recycling old EV batteries into new ones

 
Science & technology | Inside the gigafactory
Gigafactories are recycling old EV batteries into new ones
It is a further step toward circular manufacturing
 
DP3: What are Gigafactories? Why is it called “Gigafactory”?
DP4: What is the process to create the EV batteries in the factory?
DP5: How are the batteries dismantled, refined, and returned to the first stage of production? What is the 'black mass' way?
DP6: What are the troubling issues to produce EV batteries? How are the issues solved?
DP7: Why will automakers and their suppliers be forced down to produce "greening" batteries through circular manufacturing? What is the role of the government in the "greening" batteries?

Scientists dispute a suggestion that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered

Scientists dispute a suggestion that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered

 
Science & technology | The origins of covid-19
Scientists dispute a suggestion that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered
Thesis. Antithesis. Synthesis?
 
DP1: It is said that a genetic combination of about 30,000 letters was the beginning of the Covid-19 nightmare that is estimated to have caused more than 20 million deaths. Do you believe that it was caused by a zoonosis, or infection from wild animals or it was engineered by the scientist?
DP2: If the origins of covid-19 are created in genetic engineering, what is the basis of its preprint to prove it?
DP3: What are the silent mutations to create an alternative cause of the origins of covid -19?
SP4: What is the most difficult challenge about the origins of covid-19 to prove it?

The risks of Bidenomics go beyond inflation

The risks of Bidenomics go beyond inflation

 
Leaders | Economic policy
The risks of Bidenomics go beyond inflation
Joe Biden’s protectionism is costly for America and the world
 
DP1: What is Bidenomics? What is its risk?
DP2: Why is Joe Biden’s protectionism costly for America and the world?
DP3: What is the best solution to decrease the above cost?
DP4: Why can the present Bidenomics not bring the expected result of the government policy? What is expected of the government policy with consideration of the geopolitical risks?

Joe Biden attempts the biggest overhaul of America’s economy in decades

Joe Biden attempts the biggest overhaul of America’s economy in decades

 
Briefing | Adieu, laissez-faire
Joe Biden attempts the biggest overhaul of America’s economy in decades
He is using industrial policy to create jobs, cut emissions, and boost manufacturing

DP1: What is the biggest overhaul of America’s economy in decades that Joe Biden attempts?
DP2: Why did Biden's policies encourage higher inflation which is the biggest concern of voters?
DP3: It is said that big inflation should be viewed as a big job recovery. Unemployment, which was 15% in mid-2020, is now down to just 3.5%, the lowest level in 50 years. Why would it be a mistake to think that Biden's stimulus package was necessary to achieve this?
DP4: What is "friendly trade" that the Biden administration speaks of?
What must the White House make for friend-shoring to succeed?
DP5: What is the belief that Bidenomics is running through?
DP6: It is said that there are many reasons to believe that Baidenomics could fail. What are these?
DP7: It is said that Bidenomics may exceed expectations. Why is that?

How to escape scientific stagnation

How to escape scientific stagnation

 
Finance & economics | Free exchange
How to escape scientific stagnation
A number of billion-dollar experiments suggest a path
 
DP1: Somebody says that the increase in human knowledge will slow scientific progress and ultimately economic growth. Do you believe that?
DP2: It is said that the reward system of science is preventing researchers from taking chances, that system is based on peer review-the most common way to get research funding, in which scholars in similar fields score proposals-is reprehensible. What is the best way to deal with this issue?
DP3: What is the Darpa model?  What are "golden ticket" funding mechanisms? Do you believe that it is working to deal with the above issue? 

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1. 2022/10/29(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/10/30(Sun) 9:30 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①How to make better use of antidepressants
②The American chip industry’s $1.5trn meltdown
③Vladimir Putin says the world’s energy infrastructure is “at risk”
④Europe’s ambivalence over globalization veers toward skepticism
⑤Why America and Saudi Arabia are still inseparable
⑥Unlucky LIPs may explain Venus’s hostile environment

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How to make better use of antidepressants

How to make better use of antidepressants

Science & technology | Drugs for depression
How to make better use of antidepressants
Identify those who really need them, and wean other people off them

Most people on antidepressants don’t need them

Most people on antidepressants don’t need them

 
Leaders | Set them free
Most people on antidepressants don’t need them
Time to wean them off
 
DP1: Why do we have to identify those who really need antidepressants and wean other people off them to make better use of Drugs for depression?
DP2: What is the serotonin hypothesis that based on antidepressants entered the medical community in the 1960s?
DP3: What are the new drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssris), introduced in the 1980s?
DP4: What percentage of adults in Western countries and how long do they take these?  Why does antidepressant use become increasingly dangerous as people get old?
DP5: Why do doctors rarely encourage patients to stop taking their medications even though the effects of the antidepressants have been found to be not as great as once believed?
DP6: What is a new project by the medical research charity (Welcome Leap)? Why is it based on the idea to distinguish patients who benefit from medication from those who benefit from some form of psychotherapy? What can we learn about the best way to use the effects of antidepressants through this project?
DP7: What is the Horowitz-Taylor method? What is the best way to use antidepressants to minimize withdrawal symptoms through this method?
DP8: Do you believe that it is a necessary evil the medical industry treats human beings as same as rats in clinical trials to raise the level of medical care for future patients or it is necessary to enforce some government regulation because its activity is based on its own interest not one of its patients?
DP9: What guidance is needed to not provide drugs for depression to patients who do not need to be provided those drugs?
 

The American chip industry’s $1.5trn meltdown

The American chip industry’s $1.5trn meltdown

Business | The silicon squeeze
The American chip industry’s $1.5trn meltdown
Thank the boom-and-bust cycle—and America’s government
 
DP1: What is the cause of the American chip industry’s $1.5trn meltdown?
DP2: What is the advantage and disadvantage for the US to increase chip manufacturing at home and ban exports to geopolitical rival China?
DP3: What do the chip makers fear by the Chip Act passed by Congress?
DP4: What is the best solution to deal with the conflict of interests between the business and the government?

Vladimir Putin says the world’s energy infrastructure is “at risk”

Vladimir Putin says the world’s energy infrastructure is “at risk”

 
International | Sabotage at sea
Vladimir Putin says the world’s energy infrastructure is “at risk”
He would know. And internet infrastructure is vulnerable too
 
DP1: In the wake of the Nord Stream explosion, why is sabotage a more immediate concern than espionage? What are the actions of the West to deal with the sabotage?
DP2: It is said that we don't have a collective body to document all the incidents that are happening and the context in which they are taking place. What should we do to deal with this situation in case of this kind of sabotage at sea?
DP3: It is said that if one is blown up, gas, oil, and electricity cannot easily be rerouted by another route. Telecommunication cables are different. But what are other problems when more than one cable is damaged at a time?

Europe’s ambivalence over globalization veers toward skepticism

Europe’s ambivalence over globalisation veers towards scepticism

Europe | Charlemagne
Europe’s ambivalence over globalization veers toward skepticism
The EU is turning French

DP1: Why do European favor protectionism than oppose it even though more than three-quarters of EU citizens say they favor free trade?
DP2: What does it mean that the EU is turning French?
DP3: How do we deal with the conflict of interests between globalism and protectionism?

Why America and Saudi Arabia are still inseparable

Why America and Saudi Arabia are still inseparable

Middle East & Africa | The long goodbye?
Why America and Saudi Arabia are still inseparable
They look locked in an unhappy marriage for years to come

DP1: Why are America and Saudi Arabia still inseparable?  What does it mean that they look locked in an unhappy marriage for years to come?
DP2: It is said that now both sides accuse the other of breaking promises. However, underlying this conflict is a mutual misunderstanding. What is a mutual misunderstanding?
DP3: It is said that despite their frustration with the U.S., the Gulf states have no good alternative. Why do they not have a good alternative to solve an unhappy marriage?
DP4: It is said that the U.S. and the Gulf states are unfortunately stuck with each other for now. What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

Unlucky LIPs may explain Venus’s hostile environment

Unlucky LIPs may explain Venus’s hostile environment

Science & technology | Venus’s LIPs
Unlucky LIPs may explain Venus’s hostile environment
Huge volcanoes may have wrecked the Venusian climate—and may yet do the same to Earth’s

DP1: What are the differences between Venus and Earth?
DP2: Why is it said that Venus may have once had a stable temperate climate?  What kind of evidence suggests that the oceans did boil?
DP3: Why is it said that a bad thing may one day happen to Earth if the above assumption is right?
DP4: It is said that 252 million years ago, eruptions caused the mass extinction of animals on Earth, its assumption is based on the lip-forming eruptions also upset the Earth's equilibrium and the greenhouse effect from the released carbon dioxide raises the earth's temperature by 10-15°C.  Do you believe the assumption?
DP5: What kind of mechanism is applied to the consequence that the earth would remain permanently hot and dry, like Venus by the greenhouse effect?
DP6: It is said that volcanic activity may be a sign of multiple lips, these distinguish that Earth was lucky and Venus was unlucky, this assumption shall be investigated by three spacecraft scheduled to visit Venus in the 2030s, the European Space Agency's Envision, and NASA's Da Vinci and Veritas. Do you believe that human beings must accelerate preparations to escape from the Earth if the assumption is proved by the investigation?

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1. 2022/10/22(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/10/23(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①What happens when human brain tissue is implanted into rats
②Why do America and Europe fret about China turning inwards
③China and the West are in a race to foster innovation
④Booming cocaine production suggests the war on drugs has failed
⑤China wants to change, or break, a world order set by others
⑥Energy shocks can have perverse consequences

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What happens when human brain tissue is implanted into rats

What happens when human brain tissue is implanted into rats

Science & technology | Cortical organoids
What happens when human brain tissue is implanted into rats
It can feel things, direct the animal’s behavior, and also shed light on disease

DP1: What is a cortical organoid? Why do scientists need it to study complex natural phenomena like the human brain?
DP2: What happens when human brain tissue is implanted into rats? What can we find through this experiment?
DP3: What kind of method the scientist applies to investigate how the transplanted cells responded? What is the role of optogenetics in the investigation?
DP4: What is the experimental technique in conjunction with cell manipulation of implants that the scientist use? How does it work on the rats harboring channelrhodopsin-2-loaded organoids?
DP5: What is timothy syndrome? How can we find the cause of this disease through this experiment?
DP6: Do you believe that timothy's book gives hope that the use of organoids in this way will help clarify the mechanisms of this and other neurological diseases, and ultimately benefit patients?
DP7:Why do bioethicists not raise ethical issues through this experiment?

Why do America and Europe fret about China turning inwards?

Why America and Europe fret about China turning inwards

 
Special report | The deglobalization danger
Why do America and Europe fret about China turning inwards?
China increasingly fears being overly dependent on the world
 
DP1: What is the risk of deglobalization? What is the risk of splitting between the two blocs in the west and China?
DP2: Why do America and Europe fret about China turning inwards? What is the different situation between the West and the Soviet Union from the 1970s through the 1990s?
DP3: It is said that China will participate in building "Globalization 2.0."
But why can China not create world rule for "Globalization 2.0."?
DP4: Why are ideological conflicts always obstacles to creating world rule to get a mutual consensus? What is the best solution to deal with this issue?

China and the West are in a race to foster innovation

China and the West are in a race to foster innovation

Briefing | Mothering invention
China and the West are in a race to foster innovation
Which will have more success?
 
DP1: Which will have more success in a race to foster innovation? China ? or the West?
DP2: What are three notable features of a global boom in investment in innovation in 2020?
DP3: What are the significant differences between China and the West in investment in innovation?
DP4: Why do American politicians not seem to understand the advantages that their country's openness brings?

Booming cocaine production suggests the war on drugs has failed

Booming cocaine production suggests the war on drugs has failed

 
International | Thinking the unthinkable
Booming cocaine production suggests the war on drugs has failed
Now some politicians in Latin America and Europe are saying so publicly
 
DP1: Why is there no shortage of people willing to plant and harvest coca, and is there no shortage of cocaine?
DP2: It is said that with less than one-tenth of the world's population, Latin America is responsible for roughly one-third of all homicides. What makes Latin America one of the most violent regions on earth?
DP3: It is said that decriminalization advocates hope to halt such violence and corruption caused by cocaine. But why has the fight against cocaine failed?
DP4: It is said that in some places, gangs are so wealthy, powerful, and armed that they overwhelm the forces of law and order. What are appropriate actions for a global organization to deal with them to prevent crimes?
DP5: It is said that gangs infiltrate the state, and public officials sometimes abuse their power to advocate or assist in the drug trade. What are appropriate actions for a global organization to deal with them to prevent crimes?
DP6: Why have the coca leaves long been legal as long as they are not used to make cocaine?  What are the problems creating a legal coca leaf market? Do you believe that legal production is available by emphasizing the health benefits of coca?
DP7: What would happen if cocaine were legalized in Latin America?
DP8: Why does Legalizing cocaine in countries with low consumption not prevent international crime? Why has legalizing cocaine in the poor countries that produce it will only have a marginal effect as long as it is illegal in the rich countries that consume it?
DP9: What is the best strategy to win the war on drugs? What is the best way to change gangs into the right businessman to obey the law?

China wants to change, or break, a world order set by others

China wants to change, or break, a world order set by others

 
Sp9ecial report | A new order
China wants to change, or break, a world order set by others
It may yet succeed, says David Rennie

DP1: Why were the United Nations and other international organizations established in 1945?  How has the system been far more advanced?
DP2: What has the most alarming challenge often been in these organizations?
DP3: What is China's challenge to the postwar order?
DP4: It is said that China supports "true multilateralism" based on the UN Charter in 2017 and declared at Davos that China is an advocate of free trade. Why does it skillfully portray its country as a defender of the status quo? What are some of China's arguments that sound reasonable?
DP5: Why does this not regard as rhetoric in case China says it opposes interference in nations' internal affairs?
DP6: Why does China call the very concept of universal values a Western imposition?
DP7: Why does China not believe that World War II was the catalyst for building a liberal order?
DP8: Why do many developing countries feel no magic about 1945 and have only limited nostalgia for a time when the West dominated rulemaking? Is that big motivation that China will prepare to offer them an alternative?
DP9: It is said that China now seeks to reopen those old debates about how to balance sovereignty and individual freedom. What is the appropriate system to balance these?

Energy shocks can have perverse consequences

Energy shocks can have perverse consequences

 
Finance & economics | Free exchange
Energy shocks can have perverse consequences
The 1970s offer unhappy lessons for policymakers
 
DP1: What does it mean that Energy shocks can have perverse consequences? What does the 1970s offer unhappy lessons for policymakers?
DP2: What kind of theory shall be applied to determine the direction of the technological progress that is the ultimate driver of growth in the book "The Theory of Wages"?
DP3: What kind of logic is behind supporting that a sharp rise in the price of fossil fuels should accelerate decarbonization?
DP4: Why is such green growth not inevitable?  What are two factors for companies to direct their funds to support this assumption?
DP5: What is the "rebound effect" that Environmental economists call?
DP6: Why is said that technological progress is "path-dependent?
DP7: What are the differences between past and present energy shocks? What is the "elasticity of substitution" that Economic models point to?
DP8: Why has the strategy adopted in President Joe Biden's recent Inflation Control Act of subsidizing clean technology instead of taxing it had little effect in replacing fossil fuels?
DP9: It is said that policy design is critical if you expect a zero-carbon world that materialized near future. What is the ideal policy design to realize a zero-carbon world?

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1. 2022/10/15(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/10/16(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①This year’s Nobel science laureates have now been announced
②A new macroeconomic era is emerging. What will it look like?
③Elderly populations mean more government spending
④Inflation and rising demands on governments are changing economic policy
⑤Is the world economy in a debt trap?
⑥Policymakers are likely to jettison their 2% inflation targets
⑦The inflation problem will get better before it gets worse
⑧The energy transition will be expensive

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This year’s Nobel science laureates have now been announced

This year’s Nobel science laureates have now been announced

 
Science & technology | The 2022 Nobel science prizes
This year’s Nobel science laureates have now been announced
They worked on fossil human DNA, quantum entanglement, and “click” chemistry
 
DP1: What is paleontology? What is Dr. Pabo's analysis? Why his background is a tour de force of scientific detection?
DP2: What is quantum entanglement? What is the role of the three physics prize winners to receive the prize? What is the contribution in the real world from this discovery?
DP3: What is "click" chemistry? What is each role of the three Chemistry prize winners to receive the prize? What is the contribution in the real world(Particularly in drug development) from this discovery?

A new macroeconomic era is emerging. What will it look like?

A new macroeconomic era is emerging. What will it look like?

 
Leaders | After the chaos
A new macroeconomic era is emerging. What will it look like?
A great rebalancing between governments and central banks is underway
 
DP1: A new macroeconomic era is emerging. What will it look like?
DP2: What is a great rebalancing between governments and central banks underway?
DP3: What is the greatest mistake in economics? How can we prepare for the change in the macroeconomic era?

Elderly populations mean more government spending

Elderly populations mean more government spending

 
Special report | The aging paradox
Elderly populations mean more government spending
They also mean low-interest rates
 
DP1: What does the aging paradox? Why do elderly populations mean more government spending, they also mean low-interest rates.
DP2: Under what kind of conditions, can central banks temporarily raise real interest rates to combat inflation?
DP3: What does "global imbalance" means from viewpoint of savings surpluses? How does it work?
DP4: Why borrowing to the maximum extent possible to postpone pension reform or tax increases is dangerous and wasteful when they use the fiscal space created by their savings surpluses?

Inflation and rising demands on governments are changing economic policy

Inflation and rising demands on governments are changing economic policy

 
Special report | The world economy
Inflation and rising demands on governments are changing economic policy
It amounts to an upending of the previous regime, says Henry Curr
 
DP1: Why are inflation and rising demands on governments changing economic policy?
DP2: What was the shift in fiscal policy when the world was hit by inflation in the 1980s? Why a similar fiscal turnaround seems highly unlikely Today?
DP3: It is said that theoretically, a government that spends heavily and raises interest rates is responsible for persistent high inflation and a bond market crash. So, the world is awash in the capital but short- and long-term challenges lie ahead. What are these challenges?
DP4: What is the ideal economic policy to deal with the above challenges?

Is the world economy in a debt trap?

Is the world economy in a debt trap?

 
Special report | Feedback loop
Is the world economy in a debt trap?
And, if so, how can countries escape it?
 
DP1: What is the reason for the decline in real interest rates since the 1980s?
DP2: Which country in the world has an economy where households are piling up in debt?
DP3: Do you believe that the world economy is in a debt trap? if so, how can the economy get out of such a debt trap?

Policymakers are likely to jettison their 2% inflation targets

Policymakers are likely to jettison their 2% inflation targets

 
Special report | The end of 2%
Policymakers are likely to jettison their 2% inflation targets
Some by choice, some by accident
 
DP1: What is a technical triumph of inflation targeting over the lax policy decisions of the 1970s?
DP2: What is the reason that the policymakers are likely to jettison their 2% inflation targets?
DP3: What are the costs and benefits of changing the inflation target?
DP4: What is an important government policy as in the old system, for the central bank to control inflation?
DP5: How the Inflation targets are set up in a new macroeconomic regime to overcome inflation?

The inflation problem will get better before it gets worse

The inflation problem will get better before it gets worse

 
Special report | The long road back
The inflation problem will get better before it gets worse
When current disruptions recede, the underlying rate of inflation will remain higher than before the pandemic
 
DP1: What was the same scenario that Milton Friedman reflected on the three recessions that had hit the U.S. economy in the previous decade in 1978?  What stages of Friedman's loop the world economy is now?
DP2: Why is the weakening relationship between the unemployment rate and inflation-the phenomenon of central banks being complacent about the risk of overheating-may be making it more difficult to lower the inflation rate?
DP3: What are two particular uncertainties are determining the likelihood of pain in battling inflation in the United States?
DP4: Why the risk of inflation no longer comes from monetary policy that is too loose but from politicians in charge of fiscal policy?
DP5: Why without this fiscal backup, monetary policy would eventually become unsupportable? Why do Higher interest rates cause inflation, not disinflation?
DP6: Why the power of the central bank depends on sound fiscal policy by politicians? Why do politicians need to cooperate with central banks? What was the 1980s policy in the United States to support to above questions?
DP7: Why the inflation problem will get better before it gets worse?
Why when current disruptions recede, the underlying rate of inflation will remain higher than before the pandemic?
DP8: Why do economists insist on the institutional independence of the central bank in the viewpoint of its role?
DP9: It is said that the problem is that even a strong independent central bank cannot force politicians to manage their budgets properly. Such threats cast a shadow over the credibility of promises to curb inflation. Do you believe that such a problem may bring beneficial changes to the global macroeconomic regime? If so, what is the ideal new global macroeconomic regime?

The energy transition will be expensive

The energy transition will be expensive

 
Special report | Greenbacks for greenery
The energy transition will be expensive
But not catastrophically so
 
DP1:Why the energy transition will be expensive?
DP2: What are three reasons green investments are still fully viable?
DP3: Why the difficulty of politics shall be an obstacle to green investments even though the economics of decarbonization is manageable?
DP4: Why may funds available for green investments depend on whether politicians will join with the central bank in its fight against inflation?

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<The Economist Discussion Meeting (EDM)_ad hoc>
3. 2022/10/11(Tue) 7 AM-9 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
①Markets are reeling from higher rates. The world economy is next
②How not to run a country
③What would Republicans do with a House majority?
④An investigation into what has shaped Xi Jinping’s thinking

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The World Clock Meeting Planner – Results

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Markets are reeling from higher rates. The world economy is next

Markets are reeling from higher rates. The world economy is next

Leaders | The rate shock
Markets are reeling from higher rates. The world economy is next
If the Fed tightens until something breaks, the first cracking sounds could be in Europe

DP1: It is called that the biggest cause of market turmoil is the Federal Reserve's war on inflation. Why Federal Reserve's war on inflation brings unexpected results all the time?
DP2: It is called that it is outside the U.S. that the Fed's monetary tightening is having the most severe impact. Why? What is the most severe impact outside the U.S.?
DP3: What is happening next in the above economic situation? How can we deal with the next situation?

How not to run a country

How not to run a country

Leaders | Britain in crisis
How not to run a country
Liz Truss’s new government may already be dead in the water

DP1:Why Liz Truss’s new government may already dead in the water?
DP2: What are the appropriate policies to resurge the drowning UK economy?

What would Republicans do with a House majority?

What would Republicans do with a House majority?

The United States | Coming attractions
What would Republicans do with a House majority?
A chronicle of gridlock foretold

DP1: Why the Republican Party has long had problems explaining what it stands for even though it is said that the usual Republican platitudes about curbing wasteful spending and stimulating growth through tax cuts and deregulation are prominent?
DP2: What would Republicans do with a House majority?
DP3: There are already calls for the House of Representatives to impeach the president if the Republicans gain a majority. Why the House can impeach, but the Senate can't convict?

An investigation into what has shaped Xi Jinping’s thinking

An investigation into what has shaped Xi Jinping’s thinking

Briefing | The Prince among princelings
An investigation into what has shaped Xi Jinping’s thinking
A new podcast series explores what lies behind the Chinese leader’s power

DP1: It is said that in the past decade, Xi's thinking has become much clearer. However, as tensions with the U.S., including Taiwan, increase, it is more urgent than ever to find out who Xi Jinping is. What is his background and how he gets the enormous power? What are his character and his reputation? What is his policy?
DP2: It is said that "The hereditary state... . maintained with much less difficulty than a new state. For all that is required is that the prince not deviate from the customs of his ancestors." Xi may object to how easy this sounds. Do you believe that his big success as a politician comes from the following philosophy described 500 years ago?
DP3: It is said that Xi Jinping is not a Maoist. What are the different policies that each politician believes in?
DP4: It is said that his experience probably strengthened Xi's strong belief in the party. The Party needed to be strengthened to prevent such chaos from happening again. Giving freedom to the masses is dangerous. Do you believe that China never accepts Democracy that comes from the West to control such a huge country that has a long-complicated history?

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1. 2022/10/08(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/10/09(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
①Malnutrition can be treated by encouraging the right gut bacteria
②The fundamental contradiction of ESG is being laid bare
③The world enters a new era: Bailouts for everyone!
④Economists now accept exchange-rate intervention can work
⑤A reckoning has begun for corporate debt monsters
⑥Could the war in Ukraine go nuclear?

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Malnutrition can be treated by encouraging the right gut bacteria

Malnutrition can be treated by encouraging the right gut bacteria

 
Science & technology | Malnourishment
Malnutrition can be treated by encouraging the right gut bacteria
A specially devised diet made from cheap ingredients works well
 
DP1: What is the best treatment for childhood malnutrition?
DP2: Why the role that the trillions of microbes living in the human gut (collectively called the microbiota or microbiome) play in digestion is paid attention to?
DP3: What is the relationship between the balance of the microbiome and childhood malnutrition?
DP4: Which one is the best microbiota-directed complementary diet among the three "microbiota-directed complementary diets" (mdcf-1, -2, and -3) appeared to promote the maturation of the animals' microbiomes? Why is it the best microbiota-directed complementary diet?
DP5: Do you believe that you can find homemade alternatives that nourish gut bacteria better help children grow to tempt to change the policy of UNICEF and others in the malnutrition business?
 

The fundamental contradiction of ESG is being laid bare

The fundamental contradiction of ESG is being laid bare

 
Leaders | All talk, no trousers
The fundamental contradiction of ESG is being laid bare
Profit-seeking companies have too little incentive to save the planet
 
DP1: Do you believe that profit-seeking companies really can save the planet under the situation that it is often more profitable for companies to have society bear the costs of pollution and other costs than to bear them directly?
DP2: The ESG dream was that capital markets would penalize companies that ignore the looming costs of climate change to their businesses. But why it does not work well?
DP3: What is the best way to reconcile the goals of maximizing benefits and a safer climate? What is the role of the government to deal with contradictory issues in the business and social world?
 

The world enters a new era: Bailouts for everyone!

The world enters a new era: Bail-outs for everyone!

 
Finance & economics | Savior state
The world enters a new era: Bailouts for everyone!
How governments came to underwrite the entire economy
 
DP1: What is the difference in government policy for the high inflation in 1973 and 2022?
DP2: How governments came to underwrite the entire economy? What were three events have shaped this new era?
DP3: What are the disadvantages of bailouts for everyone by the government apart from the enormous fiscal costs?
DP4: It is said that if the next industry fails, there will be massive bailouts. We are all bankers now. But What happens if nobody can bail out all bankers?
 

Economists now accept that exchange-rate intervention can work

Economists now accept exchange-rate intervention can work

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Economists now accept that exchange-rate intervention can work
But it will not save the pound or yen
 
DP1: Milton Friedman, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, was an early fan of floating currencies. He once noted that the case for a flexible exchange rate is the same as the argument for daylight saving time. What does it mean?
DP2: Friedman believed that a currency defense was either unnecessary or impossible. If demand shortfalls are large and persistent, intervention would only delay the inevitable. In what kind of situation, the government intervention would be necessary?
DP3: Economists now accept exchange-rate intervention can work
But why it will not save the pound or yen?
DP4:To support the currency, to save the pound or Yen, what do the UK or Japanese authorities will need to do?
 

A reckoning has begun for corporate debt monsters

A reckoning has begun for corporate debt monsters

 
Business | Debt that taxes
A reckoning has begun for corporate debt monsters
As rates rise, how messy will the squeeze on business get?
 
DP1: What are the biggest concerns about the present corporate debt market?
DP2: What are three areas that cause burdensome the higher cost of borrowing? What kind of burdensome occurred in these areas?
 

Could the war in Ukraine go nuclear?

Could the war in Ukraine go nuclear?

 
International | On the ladder
Could the war in Ukraine go nuclear?
Sixty years after the Cuban missile crisis, the world again worries about nuclear war
 
DP1: What are the similarities and differences in the world's worries about the nuclear war between the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and the nuclear war crisis caused by the war in Ukraine?
DP2: What are the three main ways Russia could use nuclear weapons? What is the expected result of choosing the above ways in viewpoints of tactics and Strategies to use it?
DP3: What are three options that we should take to balance the two principles of supporting Ukraine's self-defense while avoiding World War III.?
DP4: What are two opinions from those who support a Ukrainian sideline viewpoint offer?
DP5: It is said that the problem is that Mr. Putin is raising the stakes rather than seeking a deal. Which options will Mr. Putin choose, cutting his losses, keeping fighting, or taking the biggest risk of using nuclear weapons to defend Russia.?

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1. 2022/10/03(Mon) 12 PM-1 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics
①How Russia is trying to win over the global south
②Joe Biden warns of global disorder if Russia is not stopped
③Liz Truss’s selective Reaganomics won’t work
④Many British adults lack basic numeracy and literacy

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How Russia is trying to win over the global south

How Russia is trying to win over the global south

 
International | Peddling Putin’s piffle
How Russia is trying to win over the global south
Its propaganda is deceptive, multilingual, and well-funded. But does it work?
 
DP1: How Russia is trying to win over the global south?
DP2: What is Russian propaganda to the world? How does it work or not?
 

Joe Biden warns of global disorder if Russia is not stopped

Joe Biden warns of global disorder if Russia is not stopped

 
United States | America and the world
Joe Biden warns of global disorder if Russia is not stopped
A strengthened president seeks to rally the world around Ukraine. But many countries want to stay out of geopolitical rivalries
 
DP1: Why Joe Biden warns of global disorder if Russia is not stopped？
DP2: What is a four-part game plan at the UN　that Western leaders have?
DP3: It is said that recent successes have boosted Biden, future setbacks could weaken him again. What are several issues causing his future setbacks?
 

Liz Truss’s selective Reaganomics won’t work

Liz Truss’s selective Reaganomics won’t work

 
Leaders | Truss’s rusty Reaganism
Liz Truss’s selective Reaganomics won’t work
After cutting taxes, the Gipper reversed course
 
DP1: What was the Reaganomics in 1981? And What was its result?
DP2: Why does Ms. Truss's attempts to emulate Reagan's success fail?
DP3: What is the best solution that the British government must take to deal with the conflict between monetary and fiscal policy? What is its result?
 

Many British adults lack basic numeracy and literacy

Many British adults lack basic numeracy and literacy

 
Britain | A lack of basic skills
Many British adults lack basic numeracy and literacy
If that changed, the country would be much better off
 
DP1: Why the UK is so unique in that young person who has just completed their formal education are as uneducated and illiterate as their older counterparts (see chart)?
https://www.economist.com/img/b/400/486/90/media-assets/image/20220924_BRC020.png
 
DP2: What is the solution for the above issues? How does it work?
DP3: Why do these efforts come too late for England to rank high in the international rankings of adult skills that will be published in 2024?
DP4: What is the relationship between the increase of the low-skilled worker and expansion of the populism?

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1. 2022/10/01(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/10/02(Sun) 11 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①How to keep the brain healthy
②Ketamine, psilocybin, and ecstasy are coming to the medicine cabinet
③After fallow decades, neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance
④Better brain biology will deliver better medicines
⑤Crossing the brain’s electrical frontier
⑥Science needs to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain

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How to keep the brain healthy

How to keep the brain healthy

 

Leaders | Thinking outside the box
How to keep the brain healthy
Neuroscience is experiencing a renaissance. Not before time

DP1: What is the biggest reason why many pharmaceutical companies abandoned or cut back on neuroscience research in the 2010s even though brain diseases are an increasing cause for concern?
DP2: What is the renaissance in neuroscience? What are Optogenetics, "organoids" and Biomarkers?
DP3: What kind of data do we need in understanding the biological roots of brain dysfunction?
DP4: Why the efforts to improve brain health are an investment that will continue to pay off for individuals and for the society for decades to come?

Ketamine, psilocybin, and ecstasy are coming to the medicine cabinet

Ketamine, psilocybin and ecstasy are coming to the medicine cabinet

 

Technology Quarterly | The new psychedelia
Ketamine, psilocybin, and ecstasy are coming to the medicine cabinet
From expanding minds to healing brains

DP1: What is the new psychedelia? What are the issues with psychedelia?
DP2: What are the two basic abilities of psychedelics that interests researchers?
DP3: Why psychoactive drugs are clearly not the be-all and end-all of new approaches to clinical neuroscience? What is the placebo effect? What kind of approach brings new insights into the way the mind inhabits the brain?

After fallow decades, neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance

After fallow decades, neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance

 

Technology Quarterly | Fixing the brain
After fallow decades, neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance
The toolkit for tackling brain dysfunction is expanding rapidly, says Natasha Loder

DP1: Why the neurology, which deals with organic dysfunction of the nervous system, and psychiatry, which deals with the human mind, remained separate since1930 even though 100 years ago, a single discipline, neuropsychiatry, dominated the study and treatment of brain dysfunction? Why do we expect the integration of the two?
DP2: Why neuroscience is undergoing a renaissance? What is the toolkit for tackling brain dysfunction? What kind of new approaches to science and innovative treatments bring renewed energy and enthusiasm in the field?

Better brain biology will deliver better medicines

Better brain biology will deliver better medicines

 

technology Quarterly | Precision neuromedicine
Better brain biology will deliver better medicines
Insights from organoids and optogenetics help

DP1: Why better brain biology will deliver better medicines? Why do Insights from organoids, optogenetics, and Biomarkers help it?
DP2: What were the causes of the past failures in the big pharma companies to use precision neuromedicine ?  What is the right approach for many new biotech companies to use it?

 

Crossing the brain’s electrical frontier

Crossing the brain’s electrical frontier

 

Technology Quarterly | Getting wired up
Crossing the brain’s electrical frontier
New ways of getting inside patients’ heads

DP1: What is “stentrodes”? What are new ways of getting inside patients’ heads?  How does it work?
DP2: Why the precision neuromedicine will require the use of not only many tools, but many different types of tools?

 

Science needs to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain

Science needs to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain

 

Technology Quarterly | More judgment, less luck
Science needs to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain
Neuroscience is complex and confusing, but it is no longer Bedlam

DP1: What are the reasons that corporate interest in neuroscience by pharmaceutical companies had been stagnant? What are the reasons that many pharmaceutical companies have either pulled out of neuroscience or significantly scaled back neuroscience research since 2010?
DP2: Why new energy, ideas and much of the money flowing into the field(neuroscience) is coming from small biotech companies?
DP3: Why does science need to move beyond luck if it is to design better drugs for the brain?
DP4: What are important factors to bring meaningful results for patients with incurable diseases?

 

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1. 2022/09/24(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/09/25(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①An influential academic safeguard is distorted by status bias
②Want to know what’s inside a star? Listen closely
③The rise of the borderless trustbuster
④How to stop the killing
⑤Why investors should forget about delayed gratification

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An influential academic safeguard is distorted by status bias

An influential academic safeguard is distorted by status bias

 
Science & technology | Peer review
An influential academic safeguard is distorted by status bias
To those that have, more shall be given
 
DP1: Why do many researchers describe the peer review process by quoting Winston Churchill's famous quote about democracy, "It is the worst system except all other systems?
DP2: What is the "Matthew Effect,"? What do we lose by the effect?
DP3: What is the best way to address bias by the effect?
DP4: Do you believe that we can find the modern-day Albert Einstein under the present Peer review system that might have a status bias?
 

Want to know what’s inside a star? Listen closely

Want to know what’s inside a star? Listen closely

 
Science & technology | Asteroseismology
Want to know what’s inside a star? Listen closely
Sounds from stars are proving useful to astronomers
 
DP1：What is asteroseismology？　What astronomers can find by it?
DP2: How can we measure the age of the solar system and the sun?
DP3: Why were particle physicists forced to revise their theories about neutrinos, which they had long thought were massless particles?
DP4; How can we confirm that the sun is considered a third-generation star?
DP5: What we should know to understand how the Milky Way galaxy formed?
 

The rise of the borderless trustbuster

The rise of the borderless trustbuster

 
Business | Schumpeter
The rise of the borderless trustbuster
Corporate dealmakers face a formidable foe. It isn’t Lina Khan
 
DP1: Why the European Commission rejected the "conglomerate effect" theory in the M&A between General Electric (GE) and Honeywell?
DP2: What is the purpose of the antitrust law in the 40-year-old antitrust philosophy? Why has the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Director Lina Kahn rejected the 40-year-old antitrust philosophy and is in favor of a philosophy that seeks to protect both real and future competitors, as well as "stakeholders" such as suppliers and workers?
DP3: What are 3 major issues in the rise of the borderless trustbuster?
DP4: Do you believe the enemies of big business abandon innovation, not achieving consumer welfare, and not creating shareholder value because they reject the "conglomerate effect" theory in the M&A?
 

How to stop the killing

How to stop the killing

 
Special report | Violent crime in America
How to stop the killing
After a long decline, violent crime in America is rising again. In this special report Daniel Knowles looks at what can be done
 
DP1: Why the homicide rate in the U.S. is so high even though it is the wealthiest country and leader of Democracy? It is more than six times higher than in the U.K., France, and Germany, more than 20 times higher than in Japan
DP2:Why the high homicide rate increases the social cost?
DP3: What is the best strategy to reduce the high violent crime rate in the United States?
DP4: Why the people kill people? Why the human right not protected?
 

Why investors should forget about delayed gratification

Why investors should forget about delayed gratification

 
Finance & economics | Buttonwood
Why investors should forget about delayed gratification
Distant profits are worth less and less these days
 
DP1: Why the present investment strategy based on a company's potential for explosive growth in the future is not worth as same as the past 40 years?
DP2: Why increasing interest rate ends the industry that investors betted world-changing, long-term disruption?
DP3: What is the best way to foster a new industry when interest rates are rising?

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1. 2022/09/17(Sat) 11 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/09/18(Sun) 10:30 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①The future of crypto is at stake in Ethereum’s switch
②The dollar is as strong as ever. Isn’t it?
③The digital yuan offers China a way to dodge the dollar
④
⑤

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The future of crypto is at stake in Ethereum’s switch

The future of crypto is at stake in Ethereum’s switch

 
Finance & economics | Post-crash cryptocurrencies
The future of crypto is at stake in Ethereum’s switch
Can decentralized networks reform themselves?
 
DP1: What do "merge", "proof-of-work" and "proof-of-stake" mean?
How does “merge” work?
DP2: What are the advantages and disadvantages of applying "proof-of-work" or "proof-of-stake" to run the blockchain and smart contract on the Ethereum platform with the Ether cryptocurrency?
DP3: Why this argument that these benefits come at the cost of concentrated power, as proof-of-stake allows large holders to earn more rewards and further increase their holdings is wrong?
DP4: What are the risks of using the updated Ethereum platform?
DP5: What are each post-merge upgrades mainly aimed at improving scale and efficiency: "merge," "surge," "verge," "purge," and "sparge?
DP6: Do you believe that decentralized networks can reform themselves?

The dollar is as strong as ever. Isn’t it?

The dollar is as strong as ever. Isn’t it?

 Leaders | The mighty dollar
The dollar is as strong as ever. Isn’t it?
Technology is undermining the clout of the global reserve currency
 
DP1: What are several factors are contributing to the dollar's rise?
DP2:What are two technological developments that are noteworthy even as the greenback soars?
DP3: Why the dollar's status as a reserve currency has not yet changed?
DP4: Do you believe that technology will change the dollar's status to be a reserve currency?
 

The digital yuan offers China a way to dodge the dollar

The digital yuan offers China a way to dodge the dollar

 Finance & economics | China’s financial system
The digital yuan offers China a way to dodge the dollar
In Beijing, officials are preparing for conflict

DP1: What is the e-cny? How does it work?
DP2: Do you believe that the e-cny could help break the dollar's monopoly position?
DP3: What several ways the e-cny could contribute to the internationalization of the Chinese currency Yuan?
DP4: Why the e-cny may reduce the convenience and accuracy of America's financial arms and raise the bar for their use?
DP5: It is said that with tensions with the U.S. on the rise, the domestic deployment of an electronic currency will be more significantly concerned about the conflict in the long run. Do you believe so? Why shall the Chinese electronic currency conflict with the U.S.?

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1. 2022/09/10(Sat) 11 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/09/11(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①The genes of a jellyfish shows how to live forever
②American states are now Petri dishes of polarization
③Mikhail Gorbachev liberated millions, even if he didn’t set out to
④Central bankers worry that a new era of high inflation is beginning
⑤The missing pandemic innovation boom

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The gene of a jellyfish shows how to live forever

The genes of a jellyfish show how to live forever

 Science & technology | Senescence
The gene of a jellyfish shows how to live forever
The problem is that it requires a complete bodily metamorphosis

DP1:Why Turritopsis dohrnii is known as the "immortal jellyfish?  What factors make the ability to prevent aging the Science team discover in the jellyfish?
DP2: Why do the animals decay over time even though they have repair capabilities?
DP3: What kind of information do we need to understand the aging process in humans? How do you rejuvenate these pluripotent stem cells?
DP4: Do you want to live forever by a large part of the body is remade?

American states are now Petri dishes of polarization

American states are now Petri dishes of polarisation

 Leaders | The disunited states
American states are now Petri dishes of polarization
Only electoral reform can make them work properly

DP1: Why the American constructive federalism is not what state politicians are pursuing today?
DP2: The greatest concern is that partisanship undermines American democracy. American dysfunction poses a risk to the world. What should we do to prevent dysfunction?
DP3: Why the reform of the US electoral system is the best solution to solve the above issue?
DP4: What are other solutions to prevent political dysfunction?

 Mikhail Gorbachev liberated millions, even if he didn’t set out to

Mikhail Gorbachev liberated millions, even if he didn’t set out to

Leaders | The man who ended an empire
Mikhail Gorbachev liberated millions, even if he didn’t set out to
Modern tyrants, alas, see his story as a cautionary tale

DP1: What are two policies that Mr.Mikhail Gorbachev applied to make the Soviet Union stronger and better? Why did he liberate millions because of the policies?
DP2: Why has Putin erased Gorbachev's legacy and returned to a society that accepts lies and violence and that does not respect the law and freedom of speech?
DP3: Why do Chinese leaders tend to be reluctant to be ruled by democracy?
DP4:Why we must continue to fight the tyrants and empire builders?

 Central bankers worry that a new era of high inflation is beginning

Central bankers worry that a new era of high inflation is beginning

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
Central bankers worry that a new era of high inflation is beginning
There are three reasons to believe that may be the case

DP1: What are the three reasons to believe that a new era of high inflation is beginning?
DP2: What are the different economic situations between the 1970s and 2020s? And what strategies do the central banks apply to deal with inflation in each period?
DP3: Do you believe the central banks can apply the best strategy to prevent a recession?

The missing pandemic innovation boom

The missing pandemic innovation boom

 Finance & economics | Destruction, little creation
The missing pandemic innovation boom
Digitization and new ways of working were meant to unleash productivity growth. What went wrong?

DP1:What are the 3 major reasons for the missing pandemic innovation boom?
DP2: Why can't the world emerge from its low-growth, low-productivity slumber even though expanding going digital like never before, shifting to telecommuting to work more efficiently, and the government and companies’ investment in science, and R&D?
DP3: What is the best strategy to increase growth and productivity?

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1. 2022/09/03(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/09/04(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Science has made a new genetic revolution possible
②Gene therapies must become miracles of medicine
③Are sanctions on Russia working?
④Fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction
⑤Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions

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Science has made a new genetic revolution possible

Science has made a new genetic revolution possible

 
Leaders | Modification revolution
Science has made a new genetic revolution possible
Now let it flourish
 
DP1:What is the contribution to Human society from a new genetic revolution by science? What made it possible?
DP2: What obstacles to realizing the social benefit through the genetic revolution?
DP3:What should we do to flourish the genetic revolution?
 

Gene therapies must become miracles of medicine

Gene therapies must become miracles of medicine

Briefing | Genetic therapy
Gene therapies must become miracles of medicine
Otherwise, they might end up a niche treatment for a small number of patients in rich countries
 
DP1: What is Genetic Therapy?  What is the Carthigan treatment?      What is Car-T therapy ? (Car stands for "chimeric antigen receptor")
DP2: Why do the prices of gene therapy drugs go far beyond what the market will tolerate? What are the two primary causes of the crisis in pricing gene therapy?
DP3:What factors make Gene therapies become miracles of medicine?
 

Are sanctions on Russia working?

Are sanctions on Russia working?

Leaders | Russia, geopolitics, and the world economy
Are sanctions on Russia working?
The Lessons from a new era of economic warfare
 
DP1: What are the strategic objectives of the sanctions on Russia?
DP2: What is a new doctrine of Western power behind these ambitious goals?  What will be the result of that?
DP3: Are sanctions on Russia working?
DP4: What flaw of the sanctions weapons has been proven?
DP5: Why the illusion that sanctions provide a cheap and asymmetric way for the West to confront an even larger dictatorship, China, should be abandoned?
DP6:What is the lesson learned from the result of the sanctions on Russia to confront an aggressive dictatorship?
 

Fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction

Fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction

 
Leaders | Promises and power grabs
Fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction
Most of the time they should be left alone
 
DP1: What are two dangerous trends in constitutional change?
DP2: What a constitution should establish?
DP3: What are two principles that the drafters of the new charter and the voters consult it need to keep in mind?
DP4: Why fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction?
In what situations you are enforced to rewrite the Basic Law from scratch?
 

Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions

Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions

 
International | The temptation to tinker
Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions
Both are bad, though for different reasons
 
DP1: It is said that the constitutional reforms in Tunisia and Chile have resulted from public disillusionment with democracy, albeit with very different outcomes. What are these reforms and their different outcomes?
DP2: What are two types of illiberal reforms?  Which reforms Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have applied?
DP3: Why the idea that a constitution's text is sufficiently perfect to guarantee success has also proven to be wrong?
DP4: What are important factors to establish a constitution and operate it? Why is an overly long constitution not working?

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1. 2022/08/27(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/08/28(Sun) 10 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①How not to administer justice after a brutal civil war
②Can tech reshape the Pentagon?
③Ways to make aviation fuel green
④Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
⑤Does unemployment really have to rise to bring down inflation?

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How not to administer justice after a brutal civil war

How not to administer justice after a brutal civil war

Asia | Banyan
How not to administer justice after a brutal civil war
Post-war reconciliation in Nepal is a nice idea. Too bad about the politics
 
DP1:Why can administer not apply justice after a brutal civil war in Nepal?
DP2: It is said that as long as those who committed the crimes remain in power, it is very difficult for victims to obtain justice or even a hint of the truth. Do you believe that justice can control the abuse of power?
If not, what is the best strategy to control it?

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Can tech reshape the Pentagon?

Can tech reshape the Pentagon?

 
Business | Defense is the best offense
Can tech reshape the Pentagon?
After a long break-up, Silicon Valley and the military-industrial complex are getting back together
 
DP1:Why are top-flight programmers lacking in the Defense industry under the circumstance that America could plausibly face a “decisive military defeat” against China in a battle over Taiwan?
DP2: Rising geopolitical risks have cemented the relationship between the Pentagon and high-tech companies. Do you believe that war is a necessary evil that accelerates innovation and enriches the economy?
DP3: Why is the winning move not more and better hardware, the roll-out of clever software-enabled systems?

Ways to make aviation fuel green

Ways to make aviation fuel green

 Science & technology | Air travel
Ways to make aviation fuel green
Airlines hope to become carbon-neutral by 2050
 
DP1: What are 3 different types of technology to produce environmentally friendly aviation fuels?
DP2: What are the obstacles to using these technologies? What are the roles of the government to solve the issues?
DP3:Do you believe that a carbon-free society is realized by 2050?

Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?

Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?

 Finance & economics | American payments
Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
It is bad for American consumers and retailers—and it is under threat
 
DP1:Why is the Visa-Mastercard duopoly bad for American consumers and retailers?
DP2: What are the interchange fees? What are the roles that are contributed by these fees in the USA and other countries?
DP3: How do you deal with a conflict of interests between the sellers who wants to hide the details of fees and the consumers who want to know these?
DP4: Do you believe that the Visa-Mastercard duopoly can be broken by a new fintech company like a leading provider of payment infrastructure because they can offer a payment method that will reduce costs for merchants?

Does unemployment really have to rise to bring down inflation?

Does unemployment really have to rise to bring down inflation?

 
Finance & economics | Free exchange
Does unemployment really have to rise to bring down inflation?
The search for labor-market slack
 
DP1:What does it means that creating some slack in the labor market prevents unexpected inflation？ What kind of labor ratio do you apply to find the slack？ How does it work？
DP2: What kind of situations provide the effect of reducing the rate of wage growth without increasing unemployment?
DP3: Why has Fed left inflation unchecked and may feel compelled to let increase the unemployment ratio? Do you believe that the unemployment ratio really must rise to bring down inflation? Or do you hope for the emergence of a certain slack?

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1. 2022/08/20(Sat) 11 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/08/21(Sun) 11 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Vladimir Putin is in thrall to a distinctive brand of Russian fascism
②Much of Russia’s intellectual elite has fled the country

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Vladimir Putin is in thrall to a distinctive brand of Russian fascism

Vladimir Putin is in thrall to a distinctive brand of Russian fascism

Briefing | A dark state
Vladimir Putin is in thrall to a distinctive brand of Russian fascism
That is why his country is such a threat to Ukraine, the West, and his own people 

DP1：Why is Vladimir Putin is in thrall to a distinctive brand of Russian fascism? What is Russian fascism? Can you support the ideology that war is peace?
DP2: What is the history of Russian fascism? Can you accept the ideology that Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength?
DP3: What is Ilyin’s book, “Our Tasks”, about, was recommended by the Kremlin as essential reading to state officials in 2013. It ends with a short essay on a future Russian leader. Do you believe that the book is the foundation of the way of thinking of Vladimir Putin?
DP4: What is the real goal of Vladimir Putin through the Ukraine war?
DP5: What is the best strategy to work with a person who is living in a different world from viewpoint of befits in a global economy?

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Much of Russia’s intellectual elite has fled the country

Much of Russia’s intellectual elite has fled the country

 
International | The best and the brightest
Much of Russia’s intellectual elite has fled the country
That will have dramatic effects on both Russia and on the exiles themselves
 
DP1: Why are the effects of the latest wave of emigration on Russia’s future likely far greater than the mere numbers suggest?  Why could the departure of Russia’s educated class today end a modernizing trend that began in the 18th century?
DP2:What were the Russian revolutions in 1905(First) and 1917(Second)? What are the differences between the February and October(the Bolshevik) revolution? What are the differences between the Russian revolution and the French one? Do you support the opinion that the Russian revolution is not the revolution, the coup d'état, and this historical background caused the Ukraine war?
DP3: Do you believe that most Russian exiles can create a virtual state, where social structures can be built independently of any form of government or even geographical location like Jews succeeded in keeping their identity by their putting intellectual freedom and books, not land, at the center of their national consciousness?

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1. 2022/08/13(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/08/14(Sun) 11 AM-12 PM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①Why it is too early to say the world economy is in recession

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Why it is too early to say the world economy is in recession

Why it is too early to say the world economy is in recession

Finance & economics | Coming into land
Why it is too early to say the world economy is in recession
Growth in the rich world is slowing but has not crashed to a halt
 
DP1: What kind of indication do most economists look to find out if the economy is truly in a recession? Why do they use it?
DP2: Why is it too early to say the world economy is in a recession?
DP3: Why is there a limit to the confidence that can be taken from good economic data? The mass of data confronting economists is useful, but why are recessions hard to spot in real-time?

People’s inflation expectations are rising—and will be hard to bring down

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/06/19/peoples-inflation-expectations-are-rising-and-will-be-hard-to-bring-down

People’s inflation expectations are rising—and will be hard to bring down

Finance & economics | Free exchange
People’s inflation expectations are rising—and will be hard to bring down
Our first in a series on the central-bank pivot
 
DP1: Why are People’s inflation expectations rising—and will be hard to bring down?
DP2: Why the difference in views of experts and the ordinal people about inflation has become gaping?
DP3: What are the roles of the politician and the central banking to control the inflation sentiment of people?
 

Should central banks’ inflation targets be raised?

Should central banks’ inflation targets be raised?

 Finance & economics | Free exchange
Should central banks’ inflation targets be raised?
The last in our series on the central-bank pivot
 
DP1: How % are present central banks’ inflation targets? How and why do they decide the target rate?
DP2:What are the advantages and disadvantages in case of the changes (increase or decrease )of the inflation targets?
DP3:What is the ideal navigation of the inflation targets by the central banks?

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1. 2022/08/06(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/08/07(Sun) 10:30 AM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①ESG should be boiled down to one simple measure: emissions

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ESG should be boiled down to one simple measure: emissions

ESG should be boiled down to one simple measure: emissions

 Leaders | Sustainable investing
ESG should be boiled down to one simple measure: emissions
Three letters that won’t save the planet

DP1:What is ESG investments? Why have we been paying attention to ESG as sustainable investments?
DP2: What are 3 major issues about ESG investments at the point where it is condemned as greenwashing?
DP3: What are the best solutions to solve the above issues? What is the role of the government to deal with these issues? 

A broken system needs urgent repairs

A broken system needs urgent repairs

 Special report | ESG investing
A broken system needs urgent repairs
The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach to investment is broken. It needs to be streamlined and stripped of sanctimoniousness, argues Henry Tricks

DP4: Why is the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach to investment broken?
Why does it need to be streamlined and stripped of sanctimoniousness? Why does a broken system need urgent repairs?
What are two ways of thinking about ESG by Asset managers?
Why are the rating agencies the veritable acme of inconsistency?

 How to charge more

How to charge more

Special report | ESG fund fees
How to charge more
Fees for managing ESG funds tend to be higher than for non-ESG ones

 DP5: Why is ESG fund fees higher than no-ESG one? Why is ESG used to increase the other fund fee?

Internalizing the externalities

Internalising the externalities

Special report | Companies
Internalizing the externalities
Can firms be made accountable for their carbon emissions?

DP6: What is the goal of the ESG investment? What 3 types of scopes of carbon emissions? Can firms be made accountable for their carbon emissions?

Measure less, but better

Measure less, but better

Special report | The future of ESG
Measure less, but better
It’s the environment, stupid

DP7: To make ESG measurement more effective, why must it be streamlined? What is the best way to streamline it? What is the role of the government?  Why should the term: ESG be scrapped?

Missionary creep

Missionary creep

Special report | The regulators
Missionary creep
New disclosure rules aim to better measure climate risks. Is that even possible?

DP8: New disclosure rules aim to better measure climate risks. Is that even possible? If it is impossible, what are alternative solutions to deal with this issue?

The savior complexes

The saviour complex

Special report | Asset managers
The savior complexes
It’s time to get real about what ESG can—and cannot—achieve

DP9: What are the two main drivers behind this focus on ESG?
What ESG can—and cannot in order to achieve its real goal?

The signal and the noise

The signal and the noise

 Special report | Rating agencies
The signal and the noise
Measurement of ESG data needs a big overhaul

DP10: What are signals and noise that are reported by the rating agencies? Why does the measurement of ESG data need a big overhaul?

The warm glow

The warm glow

 Special report | Investors
The warm glow
It’s a myth that ESG investments inevitably outperform. You can’t have it all

DP11: Why is it a myth that ESG investments inevitably outperform, and You can’t have it all?  Why do you engage the ESG investments? What do you expect through the ESG investments?

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1. 2022/07/30(Sat) 11 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/07/31(Sun) 10 AM-11:30 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics

①The Tory leadership race and Britain’s growth challenge

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The Tory leadership race and Britain’s growth challenge

The Tory leadership race and Britain’s growth challenge

 Leaders | The growth cure
The Tory leadership race and Britain’s growth challenge
The life-sciences industry shows what embracing growth requires

The life-sciences industry is a jewel in Britain’s economy

The life-sciences industry is a jewel in Britain’s economy

Britain | Britain’s growth crisis
The life-sciences industry is a jewel in Britain’s economy
Policymakers can do more to help it sparkle

 DP1: Why could British life-sciences firms rise their enormous fund over 10 years?
DP2:What are the major obstacles to increasing British Economic growth? What are the best solutions to solve these issues?

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will battle to be Britain’s next prime minister

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will battle to be Britain’s next prime minister

 Britain | There is one alternative
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will battle to be Britain’s next prime minister
Two children of Thatcher vie to succeed Boris Johnson

 The choice between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss

The choice between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss

 Britain | Bagehot
The choice between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss
The Conservative Party is suspicious of cleverness

DP3:What are the different policies between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss?  Which candidate do you choose for the British prime ministry to accelerate Britain’s growth?   What is the reason behind choosing him or her?

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1. 2022/07/23(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
2. 2022/07/24(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics
 
①What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers?
②Why do elephants so rarely get cancer？
③Modified bacterial fungicides may propel the planes of the future.
④Rising borrowing costs will hit taxpayers sooner than you think？
⑤Inflation shows both the value and limits of monetary-policy rules.

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What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers

What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers

Leaders | Post-quantum solace
What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers
A future-proof way to encrypt sensitive data is now available. Put it to use
How to preserve secrets in a quantum age

How to preserve secrets in a quantum age

Science & technology | Cryptography and quantum computers
How to preserve secrets in a quantum age
You need new mathematical ideas, some of which have just been standardized

DP1:How can the cryptography protocols work to decrypt a message that is uncrackable to everyone else?
DP2: What are tomorrow’s code-cracking computers? What to do now to prevent to fail the defense to use present encryption protocols against the hacking and data breaches
DP3: What is a future-proof way to encrypt sensitive data now available?
DP4: What are four options as a future-proof way to encrypt sensitive data using different mathematical concepts again to provide uncracability ? How are these working?
DP5: Do you believe that those 4 options solve this issue? If so, what is the reason behind supporting your opinions? If not, what are alternative solutions to deal with this issue?

Why do elephants so rarely get cancer?

Why elephants so rarely get cancer

 Science & technology | Protein shake-up
Why do elephants so rarely get cancer?
The diversity of foot soldiers in their cellular defenses seems to play a role

 DP1: Why do elephants so rarely get cancer? What is the diversity of foot soldiers in their cellular defenses that plays the role? How do we prove that hypothesis?
DP2: What is the mechanism of cancer, the enemy of many creatures?
DP3:Do you believe that if the human being has the same diversity of foot soldiers in their cellular defenses, we can live as long as the elephants live? If so, what is the reason behind supporting your opinion? If not, why not? How do create them and administer them to humans?

Modified bacterial fungicides may propel the planes of the future

Modified bacterial fungicides may propel the planes of the future

 Science & technology | Green-sky thinking
Modified bacterial fungicides may propel the planes of the future
A novel approach to greening-up flying

 DP1: What are the issues in the Aerospace and Aviation industry?    What are solutions to deal with the issues.?
DP2:What does a group from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in California discover as the solution to the above issues?  Why do these have the energy-richest chemical structures?  How are these powerful enough to fuel aircraft?
DP3: What are the differences between one used in Soyuz and Proton launchers and one discovered by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory?
DP4: Modified bacterial fungicides may propel the planes of the future?
DP5: Do you believe that this discovery makes less time to reach a carbon-free society? If so, what is the reason behind supporting your opinion? If not, why not.

 How higher interest rates will squeeze government budgets

How higher interest rates will squeeze government budgets

Finance & economics | When maturity misleads
How higher interest rates will squeeze government budgets
Rising borrowing costs will hit taxpayers sooner than you think

 DP1:What are the three main factors that determine the cost of servicing legacy debts for a given cost of borrowing?
DP2: The effect of QE is as same as if governments had replaced vast amounts of debt for which the interest rate was locked in with debt carrying a floating rate. Why most of the history of QE this refinancing operation has been highly profitable?
DP3: What are 3 ways for indebted countries to avoid higher interest costs?
DP4: Why might force central banks to raise rates even more?

Inflation shows both the value and limits of monetary-policy rules

Inflation shows both the value and limits of monetary-policy rules

Finance & economics | Free exchange
Inflation shows both the value and limits of monetary-policy rules
A search for the right equation to overcome the fallibility of human judgment

 DP1: What were the rules that guided and constrained central banking in the 1930s and 1960s?
DP2: What is the "Taylor Law" as described in a 1993 paper by Stanford economist John Taylor? How did he prove the equation?
DP3: What are the seven rules that the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland relies on when issuing its quarterly reports? How do they apply to monetary policy?
DP4: Do you think the search for the right equation to overcome human errors of judgment is valid for application to appropriate monetary policy? If you think so, what is your rationale? If not, why is that?

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<1. 2022/07/16(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics >
<2. 2022/07/17(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_ Topics >

① Which tool to reveal the fundamental building blocks of the universe, the James Webb Telescope (JWST), or an upgraded Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?
② What we should do to prevent the end of the world by the nuclear war caused as a result of Ukraine’s long war?

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Ten years on from the Higgs boson, what is next for physics?

Ten years on from the Higgs boson, what is next for physics?

 
Science & technology | Beyond the Standard Model
Ten years on from the Higgs boson, what is next for physics?
New particles beckon as the Large Hadron Collider returns(LHC) to life
 
DP1: What is the Large Hadron Collider returns(LHC) and Centre européen pour la recherche nucléair (CERN)?
What kind of a physics grand theory we can and cannot find by LHC?

DP2:
What is Higgs Bosons found by Peter Higgs who is a British theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate?
What are the Concepts of Elementary Particle Physics(Standard model)?
What is the position of the Higgs Bosons in the Standard model?
Why are physicists around the world pursuing other elements to add to the Standard Model? And how are they trying to test their hypotheses?
What can we find by LHC?
What cannot be found by LHC?
What is the goal of the LHC's third experiment?
What do we expect from the result of LHC's third experiment?
What is the challenge to the unexpected result of LHC's third experiment?
What is the first Task of LHC's third experiment?
What are 5-sigma states?
What is the idea of "flavors" of fundamental particles.?
What are the challenges of the Concepts of Elementary Particle Physics(Standard model) by the result of the LHC's first and second experiments?

https://www.economist.com/lhc-pod

How to unlock the secrets of the universe

Podcasts | Babbage
How to unlock the secrets of the universe
Our podcast on science and technology. We look at what an upgraded Large Hadron Collider might reveal about the fundamental building blocks of the universe

DP3: Why an upgraded Large Hadron Collider (LHC) might reveal the fundamental building blocks of the universe?
 

The James Webb Space Telescope opens for business

The James Webb Space Telescope opens for business

 
DP4: What are the differences between the James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) and Hubble?
How does JWST work to examine the formation of stars and planets, from the universe’s youth, more than 13 years ago, to the present day?
 
DP5: Which tool to reveal the fundamental building blocks of the universe, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), or an upgraded Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?

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How to win Ukraine’s long war

How to win Ukraine’s long war

Leaders | Russia advances in Donbas
How to win Ukraine’s long war
After doing well early in the war, Ukraine is losing ground. What next?
 
Does a protracted conflict favor Russia or Ukraine?

Does a protracted conflict favour Russia or Ukraine?

 
Briefing | The Long war
Does a protracted conflict favor Russia or Ukraine?
Ukraine is counting on its Western allies; Vladimir Putin is counting on them to lose heart
 
DP1: This article mentions that Ukraine won the short war. But Russia is winning in the long war. What is the reason behind supporting this opinion? Do you agree with this opinion or not? why do you think so?
 
DP2:This article is warning about the unexpected result of the win of Russia in Ukraine’s long war, but the West does not predict the same result and does not care seriously about the result of the war. What is your opinion about this issue?
 
DP3: What we should do to prevent the end of the world by the nuclear war caused as the result of Ukraine’s long war?

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<1. 2022/07/03(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_Topics >
<2. 2022/07/09(Sat) 10 PM-12 AM_ Japan Time_Topics >
<3. 2022/07/10(Sun) 9 AM-11 AM_ Japan Time_Topics >

①     What is the newest Open AI: GPT-3? GPT-4 has the conscious like a human being? 
②     How to fix the world’s energy emergency
③     Costly food and energy cause Hungry and anger. How to avert some of it 

①What is the Newest Open AI: GPT-3? GPT-4 has the conscious like a human being? 

Huge “foundation models” are turbo-charging AI progress

Huge “foundation models” are turbo-charging AI progress

DP1:What is the world that Google BERT(Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) built? Have you used Smart speakers like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Sir where BERT is used?
DP2：What is Huge “foundation models”(Open AI) that are turbo-charging AI progress? What is the newest version of Open AI: GPT-3（Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3）?
DP3: What are the structure, features, examples of use, and challenges (Risks and Issues) of GPT-3?
DP4:Do you believe that the ability of Open AI such as GPT-3 is beyond
One of the human beings in the future? Do you want to use the technology of Open AI? If yes, why do you think so? If not, why not?
 

How smarter AI will change creativity

How smarter AI will change creativity | The Economist

Artificial intelligence’s new frontier

 
DP5:What are Foundation models? What is the promise and perils of the foundation models? Is it an enemy or a friend to humanity? What do you think about the implementation of the models?
 

Artificial neural networks are making strides towards consciousness, according to Blaise Agüera y Arcas

Artificial neural networks are making strides towards consciousness, according to Blaise Agüera y Arcas

 
DP6: What can the Gato model developed by Google AI research Institute can do and How Google lamda（Language Model for Dialog Applications）can be applied to the model?
 

Artificial neural networks today are not conscious, according to Douglas Hofstadter

Artificial neural networks today are not conscious, according to Douglas Hofstadter

 
DP7:Newest Open AI: GPT-3 does not have consciousness like a human being.
If Next Open AI: GPT-4 has the conscious like a human being, do you think that we must admit AI robots right as same as the human being? If so, what is the reason behind supporting your opinion? If not, why not?

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＜ YouTube URL to support understanding the articles ＞
Eradication: In 2045, an AI that surpasses humans will make a decision.
https://youtu.be/1Zw8_GEZkOw

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②How to fix the world’s energy emergency
How to fix the world’s energy emergency without wrecking the environment

How to fix the world’s energy emergency without wrecking the environment

DP1: How to fix the world’s energy emergency without wrecking the environment？
DP2:What are the major roles of the government to fix the above issues?
DP3: What is a different kind of revolution to deal with the above issues?

Technology Quarterly
1. Electrifying everything does not solve the climate crisis, but it is a great start

Electrifying everything does not solve the climate crisis, but it is a great start

DP4: Which technologies needed for a fast transition to a green grid are already available and deployable, and which need more work？ What is required to do without natural gas and how gas can be made more genuinely climate-friendly, thus aligning energy security and climate security？ Which technology makes everything easier: one that lets grids manage demand, as well as supply?

2. Getting the most out of tomorrow’s grid requires digitization and demand response

Getting the most out of tomorrow’s grid requires digitisation and demand response

DP5: The copious sensors, data from (Distributed energy resources), and smart software make the grid manageable at a level of subtlety never seen before. The New smart grids are an excellent way to deal with the supply and demand of energy by customers. But what are the biggest obstacles to accepting the new smart grid system?

3. Making natural gas emissions-free will be a challenge

Making natural gas emissions-free will be a challenge

DP6: combined-cycle gas turbines are the most efficient way of producing electricity from fossil fuels on a large scale. In principle it is possible to scrub the CO2 out of its exhaust and stash it away—an approach called carbon capture and storage (ccs). Adding ccs to its plant could increase the cost of its electricity by 50%. Do you agree with these Greenwashing strategies?

4. Decarbonization of electric grids reliant on renewables requires long-duration energy storage

Decarbonisation of electric grids reliant on renewables requires long-duration energy storage

DP7: What is the advantage and disadvantage to use the present technology PSH(pumped-storage hydropower)?
What is the advantage and disadvantage to use the LDES( long-duration energy storage) system?
What are the differences between Lithium-ion batteries used in the EV industry and the electrochemical storage for the decarbonization of electric grids reliant on renewables? 
What are four groups that the innovative companies approach to get the advantage of the logic of PSH and the LDES? And how do these work?

5. New technology can help monitor, manage, and minimize methane leaks

New technology can help monitor, manage and minimise methane leaks

DP8: Methane that has been leaked from natural gas plants makes it a very powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, a tone of methane released into the atmosphere provides as much greenhouse warming as about 80 tons of CO2. What are the most important factors to introduce new technology that can help monitor, manage, and minimize methane leaks?

6. Green gases can help in the shift from fossil fuels to electricity

Green gases can help in the shift from fossil fuels to electricity

DP9: Using electricity to do things currently done with fossil fuels means generating more of it. And there are still difficult decisions to be made about what is electrified directly and what is electrified indirectly with green hydrogen.
This article says that the integration of technologies old and new to control immense flows of power is one of the solutions. What are other solutions to deal with this issue?

③Costly food and energy cause Hungry and anger. How to avert some of it 

Costly food and energy are fostering global unrest

International | From inflation to insurrection
Costly food and energy are fostering global unrest
Many governments are too indebted to cushion the blow to living standards

DP1：Tend to say that Insecurity（unrest） due to socioeconomic factors (e.g., inflation) is associated with more severe economic contraction than insecurity （unrest）due to political factors (e.g., disputed votes)
Do you agree with this trend? If so, what is your reason to support your opinions？
DP2:A final interesting finding is that while insecurity （unrest）generally depresses stock prices, this effect has historically been negligible in countries with more open and democratic institutions. In other words, with good institutions and the rule of law, societies can cope better with turmoil.
Do you agree with this trend? If so, what is your reason to support your opinions？
DP3: Government officials are abusing their rights with bribes even though government inaction has caused one-third of the youth to lose their jobs and cause riots. What do you think of the current situation in such countries? What is the best solution?

A wave of unrest is coming. Here’s how to avert some of it

A wave of unrest is coming. Here’s how to avert some of it

Leaders | Hungry and anger
A wave of unrest is coming. Here’s how to avert some of it
Soaring food and fuel prices are adding to pre-existing grievances

DP4: Somebody says that bailing out a disastrous government could entrench bad or unsustainable policies. Institutions such as the IMF should be generous but insist on reform. It should continue to closely monitor how funds are spent. Do you believe that insisting on reforms and monitoring the spending of the funds solves these issues? If so, what is the reason behind it, if not why? what is an alternative strategy to solve these issues?