COVID-19 Transforming Energy – Lisa Jacobson, Business Council for Sustainable Energy

We could not get through this pandemic – or run our national or global economies – without energy. Literally. Energy kept hospitals taking care of patients, kept essential services like grocery stores and pharmacies open, kept first responders equipped to respond and transport patients to medical care and communities.  Yet, the energy sector is reeling under the weight of this pandemic, with travel at a complete standstill and offices and businesses shuttered. Yet, clean energy is a bright spot, even though it’s also lost 600,000 jobs in this crisis. Listen to this fascinating discussion with Lisa Jacobson, president of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) on Green Connections Radio podcast on how a silver lining in this crisis may be the critical clean energy innovation coming out of it.

Gov’t Data Affects Your Life – Olivia Martin, USAFacts.org

From government funding allocations to cities and states, or even to schools and communities, to how healthcare is administered and paid for, to how clean our air and water is, to how accountable police, gun owners, courts or immigration officials really are – and especially today in the midst of a pandemic – our lives literally depend upon the accuracy of this data. But try to make sense of it! Enter former CEO Steve Ballmer’s new USAFacts.org website to the rescue. Listen to my enlightening interview with Olivia Martin, a data analyst at USAFacts.org, to learn about their collection and analysis processes.

The Economic Crisis’ Impact on Women – Heather Long, Washington Post Senior Economic Reporter

“Women are being hit disproportionately hard, because they hold disproportionately more of the jobs being shutdown and (still) have the lion’s share of family responsibilities….The industries hit hard by this crisis are healthcare, social care, education, restaurants, cleaning services, personal care and clothing stores, and the front lines of them are dominated by women.” Joan Michelson’s Forbes Blog. Listen to Heather Long, Washington Post give us the real facts and suggestions for moving forward in this fascinating interview on Green Connections Radio podcast with host Joan Michelson.

How to Talk Science to Policy Makers – Michelle Wyman, National Council For Science and the Environment

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us all a renewed appreciation for the importance of science in decision-making, especially in policy making.  It can mean the difference between life and death, literally. But how do you do it, especially with policymakers and elected officials who resist the science?
Listen to Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), who has been involved in policy for 20 years, share her tips in this engaging interview on Green Connections Radio podcast with host Joan Michelson.

Why Our Lives Depend Upon Women On Boards – Dr. Corinne Post, Lehigh University

“In a (brand new) study…focused on the medical products industry – which includes medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biologics – a group of researchers found that…firms with female directors announced (life-threatening) high-severity product recalls 28 days sooner.”  The Study’s Executive Summary, April 20, 2020… So, before you get that stent put in or new COVID-19 treatment or vaccine, find out how many women are on the board.  It could literally save your life, according to a new first-of-its-kind study by a group of researchers from four top universities,  which found that public medical products companies with more women on their boards recalled defective more often and much sooner that all-male or one-woman boards. Listen to one of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Corinne Post of Lehigh University, in this important interview on Green Connections Radio podcast with host Joan Michelson.

Insurance For How We Live – Tina Kirby, Insurance Innovators

Business Interruption & Disaster Insurance Explained & Redefined “When you think about what you are claiming from an insurance perspective, it’s partly property damage, but it’s largely also business interruption. So, your lack of sales, your lack of being able to produce things, your lack of being able to distribute things.” Tina Kirby on Electric… Continue reading Insurance For How We Live – Tina Kirby, Insurance Innovators

Driving Medical Innovation – Dr. Maria Freire, President, the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health

As COVID-19 spreads across the world and every country is aching for treatments and vaccines to stop it, listen to Joan’s conversation with a remarkable innovator tackling some of the toughest medical challenges. Dr. Maria Freire is President of the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and she developed a unique structure for expediting medical innovations. What can we learn from her? This interview was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic but Dr. Freire’s methodology is relevant to address it.

Lessons From Coronavirus For Future Climate Change Public Health Crises

Climate scientists have been warning us that, “Climate change carries a threat to human health and health care systems in the coming decades,” as ATS journal (of The American Thoracic Society) reported. I am not saying – and have not heard – that there is any association between the current novel coronavirus and climate change.  However, this outbreak and how we manage it does provide lessons for how we ought to prepare for and manage any potential increase in infectious diseases that scientists predict will come with the extreme weather events, droughts and other environmental ecosystem changes brought on by climate change.

‘From Dowdy To Dazzling’ – Lessons For Women Today From The Suffragists

As we embark on a crucial presidential election, today, women voters are the largest single voting bloc, but, as most of us know, that right to vote was a hard-fought battle 100 years ago. That is, ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
To commemorate that centennial, this Women’s History Month, I sat down with one of the foremost chroniclers of the suffrage movement, Brooke Kroeger, to tell us how it happened and glean lessons for women today.

Strategies for Women’s Rights – Brooke Kroeger, Professor, Author, ‘The Suffragents”

As we embark on a crucial presidential election this year, women voters are the largest single voting bloc, but, that right was a hard-fought battle until passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Brooke Kroeger, NYU. To commemorate it, listen to my fascinating interview with one of the foremost chroniclers of the suffrage movement, Brooke Kroeger, including lessons for today. She is an NYU journalism professor, author of several books, including “The Suffragents: How Women Used Men To Get The Vote,” creator of  SuffrageandtheMedia.org, and a former top journalist.  Including lessons for women today.