We are in the midst of a global crisis as life-altering as any since World War II. It's a crisis of interaction between humans and nature, mediated by technology, social norms, and public policy. And the various choices we've made — about testing and vaccine development, mask wearing and social distancing, contract tracing and school closings, and more — are only sometimes underpinned by science.

Society’s response to this crisis, too, has been a patchwork: There has been little coordination across nations, and in some cases little centralized coordination within nations — including, perhaps most notably, the United States.

While the COVID-19 crisis may be unique in many ways, it is neither the first of its kind, nor will it be the last. What's indisputable is that its effects will persist long after the crisis ends, and this generation will be forever changed as a result.

Co-hosts: Scott Barrett and Jeffrey Sachs, with Yanis Ben Amor

**Note that all talks require separate pre-registration**

Seminar Schedule

The Lancet COVID-19 Commission

September 16​​​​

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Healthy Buildings as Part of a Hierarchy of Controls for the Safe Return to Offices

September 23

  • Joseph Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

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COVID-19, Partisanship, and the 2020 Election

September 30

  • Robert Shapiro, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government and Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia

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The Science and Politics of Predicting and Preventing Pandemics

October 7

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Macroeconomic Impacts and Policy Responses

October 14

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COVID-19 Vaccines in a Time of Anti-Science

October 21

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Workplace Collective Action, Unions, and Worker Health and Safety in the COVID-19 Pandemic

October 28

  • Suresh Naidu, Professor in Economics and International and Public Affairs, Columbia
  • Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia

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Transmission Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2

November 4

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The Race for the Covid Vaccine: New Challenges for Innovation Policy

November 11

  • Bhaven Sampat, Assistant Professor, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

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Topic TBD

November 18

  • Alison Galvani, Burnett and Stender Families Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health

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COVID-19 and International Trade

December 2

  • Merit Janow, Dean, School of International and Public Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice in International Economic Law and International Affairs, Columbia
  • *invited* Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank
  • Chad P. Bown, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

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COVID-19 and Climate Change

December 9

  • Elke Weber, Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor, Princeton University
  • Robert O. Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Princeton University
  • Sara Constantino, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
  • Alicia Cooperman, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

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