The Exorbitant Cost of Drugs to Treat Rare Diseases

With a $2.1 Million Cure Their Only Hope, Parents Plead for Help Online
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/business/india-spinal-muscular-atrophy.html
India makes many of the world’s drugs, but treatments for rare diseases like spinal muscular atrophy are imported and prohibitively costly. In desperation, parents are raising funds on social media.
 
Cost of Drugs, Patent Protection, and Innovation
The U.S. Can Lower Drug Prices Without Sacrificing Innovation
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/us-can-lower-drug-prices-without-sacrificing-innovation
Intellectual Property Laws: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
https://promarket.org/intellectual-property-laws-wolves-sheeps-clothing/
Drug Innovation: When Patents Work (and When They Don’t)
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/drug-innovation-when-patents-work
Our patent system is broken. And it could be stifling innovation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/08/08/our-patent-system-is-broken-it-could-be-stifling-innovation/
Are drug patents worth it? | The Economist
https://www.economist.com/business/2021/05/15/are-drug-patents-worth-it 

Dealing with Chip Shortages

The Huge Endeavor to Produce a Tiny Microchip
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/technology/intel-chip-shortage.html 

Future of AI

Can Computers Learn Common Sense?
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/can-computers-learn-common-sense
A.I. researchers are making progress on a long-term goal: giving their programs the kind of knowledge we take for granted. 

Nerds in the Limelight

The Pandemic’s Nerd Celebrities
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/business/economy/pandemic-freightos-supply-chain.html
When old rules of global commerce no longer seem to apply, masters of esoteric data — ocean shipping container times, anyone? — are thrust into the limelight. 

Nationalism/Populism versus Globalization

Globalization Is Over. The Global Culture Wars Have Begun.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/opinion/globalization-global-culture-war.html
David Brooks:
In America we’ve divided along regional, educational, religious, cultural, generational and urban/rural lines, and now the world is fragmenting in ways that often seem to mimic our own. The paths various populists prefer may differ, and their nationalistic passions often conflict, but what they’re revolting against is often the same thing.

Surge in Global Food Prices

Food Prices Jump Most on Record as War Sparks Supply Chaos
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-08/food-prices-jump-most-on-record-as-war-sparks-supply-chaos
 
Bird flu is killing millions of chickens and turkeys across the US
https://theconversation.com/bird-flu-is-killing-millions-of-chickens-and-turkeys-across-the-us-180299 

Economic Growth: South Korea versus Japan

South Korea surpasses Japan in real GDP per capita
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/04/01/south-korea-surpasses-japan-in-real-gdp-per-capita/