Air Travel Recovery and the War in Ukraine

In this episode, we delve into two distinct topics: the recovery of air travel and the ongoing war in Ukraine. First, we explore the encouraging news that air travel is slowly bouncing back, with 48% of passengers now flying as much as they did before the pandemic. We discuss the factors contributing to this recovery and what it means for the future of the aviation industry.

Shifting gears, we then turn our attention to the war in Ukraine, a high-intensity conflict that has captivated the world. We examine how this war combines cutting-edge technology with industrial-scale killing, shaping the understanding of combat for decades to come. We delve into the importance of battlefield transparency, physical mass, and the blurred boundaries of modern warfare, all of which are exemplified by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Changing Landscape of Family Life in East Asia

In the second part of this episode, we shift our focus to East Asia and explore the significant changes occurring in family life. We discuss the collapse of conservative family arrangements in countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, with millions of young people opting for looser arrangements.

As we delve deeper, we examine the decline in marriage rates and the societal taboo against having children outside of marriage, which has led to plummeting fertility rates in East Asia. We explore the efforts of East Asian governments to revive marriage with economic perks, but we also discuss why these attempts have largely been unsuccessful.

Finally, we offer our perspective on how East Asian governments can embrace social change, address gender imbalances, and extend legal recognition to non-traditional family arrangements. By doing so, we argue that these governments can make family life more attractive and leave citizens freer to lead the lives they choose.

The Shortage of Lab Monkeys in the US

In the final segment of this episode, we shed light on an unexpected consequence of the pandemic: the shortage of lab monkeys in the United States. We discuss how the difficulty of obtaining monkeys from abroad during the pandemic has led to a rise in smuggling and soaring prices.

We delve into the implications of this shortage for scientific research and the ethical concerns surrounding the illegal trade of lab monkeys. Join us as we explore this lesser-known consequence of the pandemic and its impact on the scientific community.

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: how the war in Ukraine will affect the future of combat, the new Asian family (10:36) and why a lab-monkey shortage in America is encouraging smuggling (19:07). 

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