The Covid-19 pandemic continues to see countries placing restrictive measures on society and its citizens.  This has triggered an upsurge of mass remote working, changing maybe forever how we interact and communicate with colleagues and customers.  While the objective is to preserve life and to prioritise resources, it has also triggered other issues including the fear that increased government powers and additional surveillance will be long term; that jobs and sectors will never return to what they were and that large numbers of people face devastating disadvantages while others will emerge unscathed.

These issues and more are explored below by our leading speakers – 

Contributors include (articles are below in date order);

Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman)     Financial Times’ Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator has been reporting how the outbreak has been changing global politics. Rachman addresses these issue in his popular and thought provoking articles.

Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum)  Anne Applebaum  writes for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also a Senior Fellow of International Affairs and Agora Fellow in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies where she co-directs LSE Arena, a program on disinformation and 21st century propaganda.

Lionel Barber, (@lionelbarber)  was Editor of the Financial Times (2006-2020). With experience in crisis-management lessons from the financial crisis of 2008, Barber has full confidence that industry will persevere.   His memoirs The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times’ will be published in early November.

Jeremy Hunt  (@Jeremy_Hunt)- former Health Minister and Foreign Minister and current Chair of the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee in the UK parliament – he was among the first to call for a quicker response by government.

John Hulsman –  is a former Washington DC insider now based in Europe, where he runs a leading political risk consulting firm  concentrating on major foreign and macro-economic policy issues for business, investors and governments alike.

Tina Fordham    (@TinaFordham1)  is Partner and Head of Global Political Strategy at Avonhurst.   She is known for her prescient analysis of  the Intersection of Geopolitics and Markets.  Previously, she was Managing Director, Chief Global Political Analyst, Citigroup (2003-2020).  On five occasions. she listed as one of the  Top 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance and was named in the Top 100 Geopolitical Experts.

Peter Frankopan   (@peterfrankopan) is Professor of Global History at Oxford University and is the author of ‘ The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World‘ published in 2018.   He addresses themes such as Asia’s 21st century power dynamics, why history matters and how we look at the world.

James Crabtree (@jamescrabtree) is an author, professor Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and expert on the future of globalisation.   His focus includes the rise of China and India and the ongoing US/China trade war as well as the ways in which new technologies are upending politics and economics across Asia.   

Yuval Noah Harari (@harari_yuval) Professor, author and leading expert on world history, he states that humankind is now facing a global crisis – perhaps the biggest of our generation. The decisions that people and the government take in the next few weeks will most likely shape the world for years to come. Many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. 

Simon Kuper (@KuperSimon) is a leading columnist in the FT on urban culture, globalisation and soccer.  His weekend columns are widely read and appreciated globally.

Simon Sinek (@simonsinek)is World-renowned speaker on Leadership and best selling author, he been at the forefront of this crisis, sharing advice on having an ‘infinite mindset’.  Sinek suggests that there are many ways to maintain connections and interactions at work – by making calls little and often.

Daniel Susskind (@danielsusskind) – a professor at Oxford University and author of “World without Work’, Daniel  has suggested that Universal Basic Income is a feasible response to coronavirus. He shares that the arrival of Covid-19 has changed his attitude towards the future of work?

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is an internationally-renowned thought leader known as the Disaster Avoidance Expert, is on a mission to protect leaders from dangerous judgment errors known as cognitive biases by developing the most effective and profitable strategies for risk management, strategic planning, disaster avoidance, and decision making.

Jo Johnson: (@JoJohnsonUK) is a politician, author, journalist and former investment banker. He is Chairman of TES Global, the owner of the Times Educational Supplement and is Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) Sebastian is the FT’s Whitehall correspondent. In this role he reports and analyses British politics and policy.  He writes a regular column for the opinion pages about politics outside of Westminster and presents the weekly FT Politics podcast.

Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla)   is a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist and author.   Carole published her investigation into Cambridge Analytica in The Observer and the New York Timea. Cadwalladr’s investigation saw Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called before US Congress and changed how social media users think about data-sharing and the content they see online. This work also won Cadwalladr a Polk Award and the Orwell Prize.   She spoke at TED on the role social platforms play in politics, and the threat that poses to democracy.

Gérard Araud(@GerardAraud) is a distinguished senior diplomat and commentator on international affairs. Gérard served as Ambassador of France to the United States (2014-2019). He previously held senior positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Ambassador to Israel, Director General for Political Affairs and Security,and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in New York.

Recent articles, videos and podcasts in date order;

July 2-15

Anne Applebaum  – As attentions turn to the upcoming US elections, Anne writes about why ‘The Voice of America Will Sound Like Trump‘ as major media outlets reflect and amplify political beliefs.    June also saw dramatic scenes globally as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement – Anne addresses aspects of this in her article ‘Resist the Urge to Simplify the Story

Gideon Rachman  – Coronavirus could kill off populism – so says Gideon in this article.  He explores why and what this means for the political landscape globally.

John Hulsman – The little known thinker who holds the key to Cold War II – Hulsman shares that there is a very different American strategic policy than we have seen following the end of the Cold War, and Alliance management are critical tools to maintain rimland alliances in both Europe and Asia.

June 1-30

Anne Applebaum  In her regular Atlantic column, Anne published two new articles that have attracted a ot of attention this week.     In particular, her article on the parallels between the Trump regime and the different types of ‘collaborators’ in history has generated debate and discussion.    Here is an interview she did on NPR on June 4th.

May 4 -22

Jeremy Hunt Interviewed in BBC’s Newsnight, Jeremy Hunt called scientific advice given to the government on how to tackle the coronavirus crisis as “one of the biggest failures… in our lifetimes”.   This interview is reported on by The Independent.

Anne Applebaum   As countries cope with the pandemic, there is a renewed focus on leadership styles – The Atlantic made this short video to highlight how different World leaders approached this health crisis. In the The Atlantic this week, Anne writes how the US’s lack of a credible response to the pandemic and the growth of damaging propaganda.    In the meantime, China will fill the void and starts to take further advantage of the disarray in The White House.

Jeremy Hunt – In The Times this week, a new profile of Jeremy Hunt reveals his current laser like focus on proper and scientific measures and how public health care should be provided, and he isn’t holding back on his views.

Gideon Rachman  In his weekly column, Gideon writes about The US and China’s dangerous blame game – Financial Times

Tina Fordham  was interviewed by CNBC about the consequences for politics from this pandemic – the article shows parallels between Germany post 1918 Flu outbreak and the rise of nationalism. In this piece, she says “The risk here is really a return to populism, which a few years ago was something we were all very concerned about,”.

April 29 

John Hulsman : In this insightful article, Hulsman discusses the what to do about China’s role,  and what the West should do in CAPX.

April 13-24

Gérard Araud In this thought provoking article for The Atlantic Council, Ambassador Araud calls for greater support for key institutions and for the US to work with other nations to seek reform and to be more active in helping these organisations achieve their goals for global good.

Simon Kuper in the Financial Times  writes about how Coronavirus could help push us into a greener way of life

Gideon Rachman:  Gideon Rachman talks to Francis Fukuyama about the way different political systems have responded to the pandemic and about the crisis of trust that has undermined some countries’ efforts to tackle the disease. podcast 

Sebastian Payne: In this week’s podcast, Sebastian covers the major happening of the last week, with guests including Robert Shrimsley and George Parker

Jo Johnson: In this article, Jo outlines the challenges facing the education sector to attract back much needed international students – Financial Times.

April 1 – 10

Tina Fordham   took part in a webinar hosted by Spears with other experts – see here for the write up and  audio from this event.     In this webinar, Tina suggested that this is a ‘make or break’ moment for the EU and for Brexit.

Peter Frankopan  Peter writes how in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the world will be a better place, and better equipped for future pandemics:   Daily Mirror.

Gideon Rachman: “Eurobonds are meant to prevent some of the worst-affected countries, such as Italy and Spain, being sunk by new debts. They are also intended to show Europeans that “we are all in this together”, Rachman writes in the Financial Times. Rachman also talks to FT’s Gillian Tett about New Yorkers’ battle to contain the coronavirus pandemic and the shock to the US financial system that the virus has carried in its wake on the FT podcast.

James Crabtree:   In the Nikkei Asian Review this week, James writes how Asia must brace for new age of protectionism

Anne Applebaum: explores how Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, is using the current pandemic to tighten his grip on power and to further his and his party’s dominance, in the  The Atlantic 

Sebastian Payne:  Sebastian explores how this health crisis has galvanised community spirit and how many people are volunteering to help those in need – Financial Times

Lionel Barber: How will the world be changed by coronavirus in The Spectator. 

March 23 – 29:

Anne Applebaum:  Applebaum in conversation with Andrew Keen on Authoritarian opportunism during a pandemic on the Literary Hub    In this week’s edition of The Atlantic, she writes about how some political leaders are using this health emergency to grab power and to pass laws that enable greater surveillance on citizens, and these are not necessarily short term or effective  measures.

James Crabtree: Coronavirus crisis will send globalization into reverse. Crabtree explains that a global recession is now certain, along with crunching falls in trade. “The pandemic is creating an unusual simultaneous supply and demand shock to the world economy”, Crabtree shares in Nikkei Asian Review.  In his regular column in the Financial Times, he explains that humanity must get serious about saving the world even if coronavirus does not kill us.

Simon Kuper: How health workers replaced soldiers as society’s heroes in the Financial Times. Kuper commends the medics who have acquired the prestige to change a country’s behaviour, which has led health researchers to become heroes. Nations hang on their words and leaders borrow their prestige. 

Daniel Susskind: Free money for all goes from pipedream to possibility – Susskind spoke with Tom Rees from The Telegraph about his thoughts on UBI. 

Yuval Noah Harari: Interviewed by Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4 News, discussing how the pandemic is changing our societies and democracies. Harari has also been featured in TIME magazine, where he shares his expert opinion on humanity facing an acute crisis, not only due to the coronavirus, but also due to the lack of trust between humans. 

March 16 – 22:

Simon Kuper: Coronavirus could help push us into a greener way of life, Kuper shares in the Financial Times. 

Anne Applebaum: In her regular contribution to The Atlantic, she shares how the virus called America’s bluff. The United States now faces a crisis that disproves everything the country believes about itself. 

Lionel Barber: Interviewed by Press Gazette,  Barber shared insight on how the news industry will weather the storm. The pandemic will offer a chance for a financial and political debate to take place. This will lead society to evaluate how Covid-19 has changed consumer behaviour and how this will challenge long established views about hot topics including Universal Basic Income.

Simon Sinek: Sinek has been praised for helping maintain a connection during the time of the pandemic in the Evening Standard and has also been featured on a YouTube video alongside Mark Zuckerberg, sharing advice during such mentally difficult times. 

Daniel Susskind: Universal Basic income is an affordable and feasible response to coronavirus, Susskind shares with the Financial Times as a way to economically cure the pandemic. Susskind states that though it may not be robots that have taken all the jobs yet, the pandemic is decimating the demand that those jobs rely upon.

Yuval Noah Harari: The world after coronavirus in the Financial Times. Harari states that this storm will pass, but the choices we make now could change our lives for years to come. Humankind is now facing a global crisis. 

Carole Cadwalladr :    Carole’s article in The Guardian this week highlights the potential shortage of PPE and how some NHS staff are reluctant to speak up

March 2-12: 

Yuval Noah Harari: Harari discusses on BBC Newsnight how the world could be shaped by the virus and that countries need to ‘help each other’ as death rate increases. 

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – Companies are preparing for coronavirus all wrong. Giving in to pessimism will actually help you get ahead. Tsipursky shares with Business Insider.  

John Hulsman : Hulsman’s notes from from inside Italy’s quarantine in CAPX.