logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
40m 13s

The Jab: How will behaviour change?

The Economist
About this episode

The world has stumbled through the pandemic by nationalising risk. In heavily infected countries citizens have been ordered to stay home for weeks at a time. As covid-19 vaccination programmes spread, governments must gradually restore choice to the individual. How?


We speak to Ozlem Tureci and Ugur Sahin—the couple who co-founded BioNTech which created the first covid-19 vaccine to get regulatory approval. 


Alok Jha, The Economist's science correspondent, hosts with our health policy editor, Natasha Loder. The Economist's deputy editor Edward Carr, Europe correspondent Vendeline Von Bredow and Dan Rosenheck from our data team join them.


For full access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe at economist.com/thejabpod. Sign up for our new weekly science newsletter at economist.com/simplyscience and data newsletter at economist.com/offthecharts



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 21
Flee country: Britain seeks to slash migration
<p>Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/11/20/will-britain-copy-asylum-policy-from-a-place-with-poor-integration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discov ... Show More
23m 22s
Nov 20
War graft: scandal engulfs Ukraine
<p>Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/11/19/a-terrible-american-russian-proposal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_con ... Show More
25m 24s
Nov 19
Crown prince arming: Trump sells jets to MBS
<p>Muhammad bin Salman’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/11/18/saudi-arabia-is-in-no-hurry-to-join-the-abraham-accords?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-n ... Show More
21m 55s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Babbage: Bill Gates's plan to prevent the next pandemic
New diseases are inevitable, but pandemics are not. As the threat from covid-19 recedes, how can the world stop new pathogens from becoming health emergencies? Business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates has long warned of the risk that a novel virus would go global. He tells G ... Show More
33m 40s
Oct 2023
Editor’s Picks: October 23rd 2023
<p>A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the <a href="https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2023-10-21" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">latest issue of <em>The Economist</em></a>. This week, why <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/19/t ... Show More
22m 12s
Oct 2023
So the Tory goes: Britain’s Conservatives meet
<p>Divisions within the ruling party are on full display this week, and the <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/04/rishi-sunak-is-wrong-to-amputate-britains-high-speed-rail-line?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=di ... Show More
24m 57s
Mar 2024
The Intelligence: Europe is not so hot on its green parties
<p>Melting ski slopes, floods and droughts are enraging the continent’s citizens, but not quite enough for them to consider <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/03/04/europes-new-look-winter-floods-high-sea-levels-and-melting-glaciers?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio. ... Show More
24m 14s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: Workers of the world, delight!
<p>Labour markets are changing in all kinds of ways, thanks to ageing societies, hot-running economies and technological boosts. It all adds up to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/11/28/welcome-to-a-golden-age-for-workers?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_mediu ... Show More
23m 30s
Oct 2023
Money Talks: Goldin rules
It’s that time of year when an economist is woken by an early call from the Nobel Committee in Sweden. This year, it was the turn of Claudia Goldin, whose work has revolutionised our understanding of gender in the labour market. And on this week’s podcast, we speak to her.Hosts: ... Show More
44m 59s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: No water, no lights, no beds
<p>Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers <a href="https: ... Show More
23m 52s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: is Germany al[t]right?
<p>The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party represents a growing <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/01/21/germany-strikes-a-brave-new-deal-on-immigration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr ... Show More
21m 46s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: Dengue’s grip on Latin America
<p>The dengue-fever case counts now break regional records every year—and the structural reasons behind <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/04/25/dengue-fever-is-surging-in-latin-america?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm ... Show More
22m 55s