What will happen to agriculture after COVID-19? Will it be business as usual? Wandile Sihlobo argues that it's unlikely. 'Instead, many will probably attempt to mitigate the risks stemming from dependence on foreign seasonal workers by automating more of their operations'. He takes us through the situation in South Africa and believes that 'while agricultural jobs in countries like South Africa are likely to remain plentiful, those who depend on seasonal jobs in the advanced economies should prepare for even more uncertainty ahead'.
Then, (at 14 mins) Italy may have just eased some restrictions after a complete lockdown but their troubles are far from over. They face a mounting public debt problem and even though the European Central Bank is helping by buying Italian bonds, it is not a long term solution. Dominic Standish takes us through what the ECB and the EU have done, or not done, and explains that 'there is a very real possibility that Italy could default on its debt'. He argues that this could 'threaten a wider financial European crisis, given the size of Italy's economy and how many EU financial institutions and companies are deeply involved in it'.
Also, (at 28mins) We hear a lot about the scientific modelling that is guiding our response to COVID-19 but what actually is scientific modelling? Dr Rachael Brown explains that they are representations 'that let us explore features of the real world that we can't investigate directly'. She believes that 'thanks in large part to the power of model-based science, we are in a far better place than any generation before us to deal with a pandemic of this scale'.
Finally, (at 39 mins) What is a a hero? Is it still a 'stoic soldier, fighting for freedom against oppression and displaying physical bravery, while maintaining a sense of humour'? Andy Owen tells us about a few of those men and wonders who their heroes were. He believes that by 'examining what we admire about our heroes from the recent past and their heroes from the ancient past , and exploring criticisms of both, it may be possible to identify a different form of heroism, one not rewarded with medals f valour, but which takes as much courage and can be just as heroic'.