276 | Jill Lepore on the Destructive Power of Tech

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David talks to the American historian Jill Lepore about the damage new technology can do to democracy, from the 1960s to the present. Who first tried to manipulate the minds of the electorate? Where did the money come from? What happened when the same technology was applied to fighting the Vietnam War? Plus we discuss US presidential elections from 1960 to 2020: do the machines really decide who is going to win, and if he does win this time, what might Joe Biden be able to do about it?

243 | Ebola, COVID and the WHO

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David and Helen talk this week with Amy Maxmen, senior reporter at Nature. Amy has covered the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa and now COVID-19 in the US.  Does she see comparisons between the two?  What explains the failures of the US response?  Can the WHO still make a difference?  Plus we explore the implications of the growing politicisation of science.  When did data become so divisive?