Brigadoon Daily Rundown = April 3, 2020

Science in the time of coronavirus: Exploring the tension between scientific reasoning and human irrationality. https://bit.ly/2WWPWgy 

Robert Dingwall: We should deescalate the war on the coronavirus: Fear, finger-pointing, and militaristic action against the virus are unproductive. We may be better off adjusting to a new normal of periodic outbreaks. https://bit.ly/39ukNn9

Alastair Campbel: Time for Johnson to get serious about crisis management skills. His twenty checkpoints for his briefing team https://bit.ly/2vYKBdh 

Jeremy Shapiro: Little Britain: Will Brexit break up the United Kingdom? https://fam.ag/2xw6Ac1 

CoinDesk podcast: Disruption, money, and a world of change, featuring Niall Ferguson https://bit.ly/3dIyl1t 

"I think the right lesson to draw from all of this is that a global order needs to be based on a distributed operating system, not on a centralized architecture..." - Niall Ferguson

AEI: National coronavirus response: A road map to reopening https://bit.ly/2QWEVro 

Faye Flam: Confirmed coronavirus cases is an ‘almost meaningless’ metric https://yhoo.it/2UvxuKf 

“The numbers are almost meaningless,” says Steve Goodman, a professor of epidemiology at Stanford University. There’s a huge reservoir of people who have mild cases, and would not likely seek testing, he says. The rate of increase in positive results reflect a mixed-up combination of increased testing rates and the spread of the virus.

Mitch Albom: Hey, President Trump: Her name is Gretchen Whitmer https://bit.ly/2JszLzy

UN issues global call to creatives in response to COVID-19: The first open brief calls for messaging to help combat coronavirus. https://bit.ly/3au5gVz 

Social distancing in style with Matt Hranek https://bit.ly/33YAEt1 

15 great ideas that were conceived in isolation https://bit.ly/2V1d62L

Leadership, resilience, and the COVID-19 outbreak: As the world mobilizes to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, uncertainty abounds. One thing is clear, however: the COVID-19 outbreak underscores the need for business and society to be resilient and prepared—qualities that will be in demand long after public health has been restored. https://on.bcg.com/3bprtEg 

”All logical arguments can be defeated by the simple refusal to reason logically” -- Steven Weinberg

Brigadoon Daily Rundown = April 2, 2020

How we must respond to the COVID-19 pandemic: Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates offers insights into the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing why testing and self-isolation are essential, which medical advancements show promise and what it will take for the world to endure this crisis. (This virtual conversation is part of the TED Connects series, hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson and current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers.) https://bit.ly/33M6TeX 

“What we need is an extreme shutdown so that in six to 10 weeks, if things go well, then you can start opening back up.”

"There really is no middle ground, and it’s very tough to say to people, Hey, keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, [and] ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner. We want you to keep spending because there’s maybe a politician who thinks GDP growth is all that counts.”

Yuval Noah Harari: the world after coronavirus: This storm will pass. But the choices we make now could change our lives for years to come. https://on.ft.com/33Qi1r9 

A green reboot after the pandemic: In addition to threatening millions of lives and the global economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that human societies are capable of transforming themselves more or less overnight. In fact, there's no better time than now to usher in systemic economic change. https://bit.ly/39jevqh 

“The globalization project is over”: Steve Bannon is considered the prophet of anti-globalization. He encouraged US President Trump to follow the path of "economic nationalism" and to confront China. With Wuhan at the epicenter of a disastrous pandemic, Bannon pledges to “dedicate my life” to make sure the Chinese leadership is “held accountable” for the damage done. https://bit.ly/3dzknyY 

Kemal Derviş and Sebastian Strauss: What COVID-19 means for international cooperation https://brook.gs/3at5Xic 

A Marine general’s next battle: Grocery-store logistics: Larry Nicholson once led 20,000 troops in Afghanistan; now he’s making sure you don’t run out of food during the coronavirus crisis. https://bit.ly/2UJgVsW 

A truce in the trade war will save American lives: Immediately lifting all tariffs on personal protection equipment will enable doctors and nurses to safely do their work. https://bit.ly/2wF7B1m 

Pandemic psychologist explains lavatory roll panic https://bit.ly/2QPkT25 

Social isolation in context: NASA astronauts have been flying to space for more than 50 years and for nearly 20 years, crew members have been staying in space for months-long missions living on the International Space Station with only a few other people in about as much space as a six-bedroom house. Astronauts experience various aspects of social isolation and confinement during their missions. NASA carefully selects crew members and trains and supports them to ensure they can work effectively as a team for six months. NASA also studies how isolation and confinement can alter astronauts’ individual and team health and performance as well as test strategies to mitigate any negative impacts. These isolation studies are conducted with astronauts in space as well as in analog facilities such as the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), the NEK facility in Moscow, and field locations in Antarctica. Astronaut Anne McClain shared tips for cultivating skills and behaviors to successfully live in confined spaces for long periods of time. https://go.nasa.gov/2Jf74Gd 

The Star: Whenever this pandemic ends, fans and staff will remember quite clearly which teams played fair https://bit.ly/33RgXDy 

"When Mark Cuban stands up as the voice of reason, you fully understand we are existing in a vastly altered sports universe."

“How companies respond … is going to define their brand for decades,” said Cuban.

"To convince customers to come back, teams will need to be flexible and innovative. It’s going to take an awful lot of trust and goodwill to get people back in the seats. That’s what Cuban is saying."

“People have a built-in alarm system that keeps us away from danger. So when people become frightened their sensitivity to disgust increases. In a pandemic, people are more likely to experience the emotion of disgust and are more motivated to avoid it."

Sendhil Mullainathan and Richard H. Thaler: To fight the coronavirus, cut the red tape: Two economists suggest suspending these 5 types of regulations because they are slowing the medical response to the pandemic. And they are asking for more ideas. https://nyti.ms/33N6VDc 

Brigadoon Daily Rundown = April 1, 2020

Responding to COVID-19 — A once-in-a-century pandemic? Bill Gates writes, in any crisis, leaders have two equally important responsibilities: solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. We need to save lives now while also improving the way we respond to outbreaks in general. The first point is more pressing, but the second has crucial long-term consequences.

Excerpt from the New England Journal of Medicine, where the article originally appeared. 

You can read the full article here: https://gatesnot.es/3btUpv4 

The NHS at capacity: The British state is obsessed with efficiency. But this also makes it vulnerable – as coronavirus is showing – in times of crisis. https://bit.ly/3auGwfV 

Scott Gottlieb and Lauren Silvis: The road back to normal: More, better testing: Rapid diagnosis, targeted surveillance and boosting lab supplies will help beat back the coronavirus. https://on.wsj.com/2yhCXvn 

Communicating a crisis: On The Red Box Politics Podcast, Matt Chorley speaks to Alastair Campbell and James Johnson about mixed media messages, plus Rachel Sylvester on politics turned upside down. Listen here: https://bit.ly/2UtVr4E 

Rebuilding Notre-Dame (video): Filmmakers Chloé Rochereuil and Victor Agulhon documented the last weeks of Notre-Dame cathedral before the fire. Now, they‘re the first to capture the efforts to rebuild it - in virtual reality. https://bit.ly/3dwyqVX 

If all our actions are shaped by luck, are we still agents? https://bit.ly/3duPBHv 

Dr. Atul Gawande: Keeping the coronavirus from infecting health-care workers: What Singapore’s and Hong Kong’s success is teaching us about the pandemic. https://bit.ly/2QLunvi 

MR: Any current communications pro and or any wanna be communications pro, take 30 minutes to listen to this master class discussion on communicating during a crisis. 

Brigadoon Daily Rundown = March 31, 2020

UK Research and Innovation: Coronavirus: The science explained lays out the evidence and the facts about the virus, the disease, the epidemic, and its control. https://bit.ly/2ylLFca 

Johns Hopkins offers free online course about COVID-19 and epidemiology: The class is offered publicly on Coursera and requires no prior background in science or health fields. https://bit.ly/3avJYqD 

Leadership communications in times of crisis: PR chiefs offer insights https://bit.ly/3bB5jPv 

You are the world: Are your decisions made by your brain, or via the experience of the world relative to your body? A dialogue on consciousness. https://bit.ly/2QP9bof 

What will it take to get digital tools into regular use in mental health services, and what could researchers do to help make this work? The answer is simple. Do better research and research the right things. But how? https://bit.ly/2WJUhTU 

John Ibbitson: This pandemic will reshape the social landscape – it’s just too soon to say how https://tgam.ca/2WXNxSz