What we’re reading (9/21)
“Jeff Zucker Helped Create Donald Trump. That Show May Be Ending.” (New York Times). This isn’t exactly a new story—the New Yorker reported it in long form back in 2017—but worth the read anyway. “In speaking to dozens of people who know Mr. Zucker over the past few weeks, I heard two distinct theories of what is going on now: One is the current version of CNN — amped up outrage and righteousness — is just Mr. Zucker’s latest reflexive adaptation in search of ratings. The other is that Mr. Zucker, TV’s Dr. Frankenstein, has been willing to dent his network’s nonpartisan brand in order to kill his runaway monster, Mr. Trump.”
“What Would It Take For Herd Immunity To Stop The Coronavirus Pandemic” (Wall Street Journal). “For the pandemic to stop, the coronavirus has to run out of susceptible hosts to infect. Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a population develop an immune response, either through previous infection or vaccination, so that the virus can’t spread easily and even those who aren’t immune have protection. To reach herd immunity for Covid-19, public-health authorities estimate that around 60% to 70% of a given population would need to develop an immune response to the virus. Some epidemiologists and mathematicians now say herd effects might start to kick in before that point, at perhaps closer to 50%, suggesting potential protection could be achieved sooner.”
“What’s Next For The Stock Market? It’s Time To Consider ‘Babies That Have Gotten Thrown Out With The Bath Water,’ Strategist Says” (MarketWatch). Never a bad time to go hunting for value.
“The West Should Heed Napoleon’s Advice And Let China Sleep” (Financial Times). Not sure I agree. Alas: “Napoleon was right when he warned western nations to ‘let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.’ Even more than in Turkey and India, there is a potential volcano of anti-western sentiment waiting to explode in China. Currently, the only political force strong enough to hold down these forces of Chinese nationalism is the Chinese Communist party.”
“Airline Workers Have Lower Rates Of COVID-19 Than The General Population — And Airline CEOs Says It’s Proof That Flying Is Safe” (Business Insider). “The coronavirus spreads when people are in close quarters for extended periods of time, breathing the same air with little space between them. So you might expect airplanes to be the perfect environment for the transmission. But some surprising data from airline workers show that is not the case. In fact, flight attendants and other airline workers have had a lower incidence of COVID-19 than the general population.”
