April 16, 2020

If there is a silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic, it’s this: the economic shutdown is bringing temporary relief from air and water pollution. Could this be the harbinger of a low-carbon future? Or could economic and political pressure turn back the clock on climate regulation? Renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe joins the program.

Sheila Bair was formerly the chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the agency designed to make banking safer for consumers – indeed, she was once called “the little guy’s protector in chief.” Bair joins Sheelah Kolhatkar to discuss how not to repeat the mistakes of the 2008 bailout.

Historian Archie Brown wants to debunk the theory that the West won the Cold War through military and economic might. In his book "The Human Factor," Brown argues that success was really rooted in stellar leadership that seized the day and changed the course of history. He dwells on three strong characters at the center of this drama: Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher.