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Feudal Future Podcast — COVID mRNA Vaccines and the State of Future Pandemics

On today's episode of Feudal Future hosts Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky are joined by guests Joe Payne and Tony Lemus. Joseph E. Payne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics. Arcturus therapeutics is a leading clinical-stage messenger RNA medicines company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines.

Their conversation begins with Marshall asking Joe about different vaccines that are being approved rapidly and how they are receiving emergency permits for the market. Joe breaks down scientifically how mRNA works with the body and how the results look promising for covid19. Arcturus is in the middle of phase 1 and 2 trials with over 100 participants. Joe continued, highlighting that their vaccine could be a single dose vaccine as well as a low dosage.

Tony joined the conversation and added that the predictive models, coupled with the clinical trials, using AI, has sped the process of approval and are able to leap-frog the FDA with less red tape.

Joel brought up a problem. If multiple vaccines come out, which ones will be the best? Joe states that efficacy is the current issue, but the conversation will shift to convenience; cost and single administration. Joel continues and asks if this vaccine will stop the wave of pandemics due to the virus. Joe states that COVID-19 is here to stay regardless of the vaccine and that it will take time for herd immunity to develop.

As the episode ends, Joe explains how the beauty of mRNA vaccines is through a non-viral delivery and how this vaccine will be the benchmark for future pandemics.

Listen on Apple Podcast

Listen on Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

More podcast episodes & show notes at JoelKotkin.com

Watch Episode on Youtube

Related:

Learn more about the Feudal Future podcast.
Learn more about Marshall Toplansky.
Learn more about Joel Kotkin.
Learn about Joe Payne.
Learn about Tony Lemus.

Join the Beyond Feudalism Facebook group.
Read the Beyond Feudalism report.
Leran about Joel's book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism.

The Post-Pandemic Housing Reality

Join the discussion on a new policy agenda for home ownership and opportunity in our post-pandemic economy.

Hosted by Urban Reform Institute

Panel 1

J. H. Cullum Clark - Director, George W. Bush Institute
Anne Snyder - EIC, Comment Magazine
Pete Saunders - Writer, Researcher
Karla del Rio Lopez - Lead Partnership specialist, U.S. Census Bureau
Charles Blain - URI

Panel 2

Wendell Cox - Principal, Demographia
Joel Farkas - Manager, Pioneer HoldCo
Mark Boyce - Founding Partner, True Homes
Ted Nelson - President/COO, Newland
Joel Kotkin - Executive Director, URI

Date: December 4, 2020
Time: 11:30AM – 1:00PM (Central Time)

Register for Webinar

See PDF invite for more details

Urban Density and COVID-19 Death Rates: Update November 2020

The latest death rates from COVID-19 are displayed by county urban density in Figure 1. Death rates remain at or below the national average per 1,000 residents in county categories with urban densities of 5,000 per square mile or below (Figures 1 and 2). More than 85% of the nation’s residents live in these areas, which have rural or low to medium density suburban areas. All categories of counties with urban densities exceeding 5,000 per square mile have more than their population proportionate share of Covid-19 deaths.

Urban density is important. Covid infections and deaths are associated with higher urban densities. This is not because population density is a problem in itself. It is rather that in high urban densities it is more difficulty to avoid higher exposure densities, because the intensity and duration of risky contacts is likely to be greater. These areas are often characterized by worrying overcrowding from insufficiently ventilated enclosed spaces, such as elevators, transit, offices and public buildings (see: The Subways Seeded the Massive Coronavirus Epidemic in New York City by MIT economist Jeffery E. Harris). Social distancing alone is not enough. According to The New York Times: Small, crowded, enclosed spaces are petri dishes for the coronavirus. An additional problem in higher density residential areas is overcrowded apartments, often necessary because lower income households often cannot afford detached houses with yards in which kids can play. There is an important poverty connection.

Similar relationships are evident elsewhere, such as in the United Kingdom and Japan.

Wendell Cox is principal of Demographia, an international public policy firm located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is a founding senior fellow at the Urban Reform Institute, Houston and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Demographics and Policy at Chapman University in Orange, California. He has served as a visiting professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris. His principal interests are economics, poverty alleviation, demographics, urban policy and transport. He is co-author of the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey and author of Demographia World Urban Areas.

Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to three terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (1977-1985) and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council, to complete the unexpired term of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (1999-2002). He is author of War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life and Toward More Prosperous Cities: A Framing Essay on Urban Areas, Transport, Planning and the Dimensions of Sustainability.

Dissecting Biden vs. Trump with Former RNC Staffer Kevin Shuvalov

On today's episode of Feudal Future hosts Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky are joined by guest Kevin Shuvalov. Kevin served as Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee, where he worked with state parties and campaigns in his region to grow Republican majorities in the Senate, House, and Governorships. In this role, he helped win Iowa’s electoral votes for President Bush as well as multiple other nationally prominent races, and helped create the successful “72 Hour” turnout program.

Their conversation begins with Joel asking Kevin if he was surprised with the turnout of the election and how the media portrayed the race to be one side or the other. Kevin responded with his concerns and what losing seats could have meant for Texas. Marshall followed the question up with how tech played a role and specifically how text message campaigns played a huge role in the election process. Not just the one-way text message route, but the back and forth communication with voters.

Joel continues and brings up a great point, “What astounds me is that Trump actually did better among young people and better among Hispanics and better, particularly among African American males than anyone expected. And that was particularly marked in Florida, and where you are in Texas, what happened and what does that mean?” Kevin responds and breaks down the Hispanic Latinos in Texas and how their wealth affects their decisions. Kevin also states that nothing is set in stone when it comes to the electorate.

As the episode ends, they speak about the control of communication by people who are overwhelmingly on the opposite side of the republican party and what it can manifest in the upcoming years.

Listen on Apple Podcast

Listen on Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

More podcast episodes & show notes at JoelKotkin.com

Watch Episode on Youtube

Related:

Learn more about the Feudal Future podcast.
Learn more about Marshall Toplansky.
Learn more about Joel Kotkin.
Learn about Kevin Shuvalov.

Join the Beyond Feudalism Facebook group.
Read the Beyond Feudalism report.
Leran about Joel's book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism.

Elite Democrats Could Destroy the Middle Class if Biden Wins in 2020

It’s been a long time since the Democrats were considered “the party of the people” and the GOP the party of the fat cats. This year Joe Biden and even more so his running mate, Kamala Harris, are raising record sums from the corporate elite, notably the tech giants and their Wall Street allies. These wealthy donors dominate the party, own much of the media, and can manipulate the social-media platforms where a growing proportion of Americans get their news.

Meanwhile, the Republicans find themselves largely castigated in the press and overwhelmed by a torrent of oligarchic wealth at the Senate and local levels. This wealthy oligarchy is not just liberal; many members also support a thorough remaking of our country. Some, like former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, are so committed to progressivism that, as he said recently, those who don’t get with the program should “face a firing squad.” Currently led by CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gone so far as to block The New York Post’s account after it reported on the unsavory foreign business dealings of Biden’s son Hunter.

If these Democrats win both houses of Congress as well as the White House, things could get far worse for the already beleaguered middle class, which has been rocked by the pandemic, with an estimated 100,000 small firms going out of business. Particularly hard-hit by the recent urban unrest are inner city and minority businesses.

Read the rest of this piece at NYPost.


Joel Kotkin is the author of The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class. He is the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and Executive Director for Urban Reform Institute. Learn more at joelkotkin.com and follow him on Twitter @joelkotkin.