Screenshot: Have Bezos and Branson ushered in a new era of space tourism? July 23, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Badger, mushroom, snake **Have Bezos and Branson ushered in a space tourism boom? **No more chill for Netflix Media Moment of the Week: Badger, mushroom, snake Want to feel old? The iconic animated badger video (you know the one) is now almost 18 years old. Aside from lamenting [...]
Status quo anxiety: from Covid to foreign aid, we’re trapped by our desire to keep things the same July 23, 2021 Covid restrictions were relaxed this week, but it was far from universally supported. A group of academics wrote to the Lancet to condemn the move as a “dangerous and unethical experiment”. Some scientists warned that letting the virus run amok would create a fertile breeding ground for new variants and urged the government to once [...]
Which values do we value? Companies want to ‘give back’ but they need to walk the walk July 23, 2021 As we emerge from a tumultuous year, defined by the first global pandemic for over a century, there have been many calls to build back a better, greener, more inclusive world. Corporate leaders need to heed those calls. There are encouraging signs that something is changing from the better. A first of its kind “values [...]
Whitewash Croydon tram inquest verdict raises more questions than answers July 22, 2021 Today the inquest into the Sandilands tram crash concluded with the jury returning a disappointing verdict of accidental death. I share the anger that seven people’s deaths are put down as simply an accident, when we have seen both the safety problems that the investigation brought to light, and the attempts to hide from scrutiny. [...]
In the wake of Greensill: alternative finance has been tainted by the scandal and needs to claw back legitimacy July 22, 2021 The dust may be slowly settling on the Greensill scandal itself, but its ramifications are rumbling on for the alternative finance sector. Post launch, Greensill was feted in the community, receiving large investments as it grew and racking up numerous plaudits for transforming how business financing can evolve to better suit the payments exchange between [...]
Turn the volume down: London could be revolutionised by the silent automation of the noisiest parts of city life July 22, 2021 Cities have always been the future. Development is nearly always metropolitan, regeneration usually urban. London is one of the world’s major cities, and we might expect it to be one of the fastest to bounce back from the turmoil of the last year. But will a post-pandemic world view cities in the same way? Covid [...]
Raising the money to fund social care reform is half the battle, we need steely determination to mend the system July 22, 2021 Proposals to hike national insurance by 1 per cent to fund adult social care reform has caused much excitement in the media. But raising the money is barely half the battle. The tax raising options are, after all, well understood, even if the political challenge of implementing one remains formidable. As great a challenge is [...]
Editorial: Boris Johnson’s Government desperately needs a reset to avoid giving credence to Cummings’ claims July 21, 2021 Had you considered so doing before, it now seems unlikely Dominic Cummings would make the cut for a “dream dinner party” list. Your other guests wouldn’t get a word in edge-ways. In his hour-long interview aired on the BBC last night, the Prime Minister’s former adviser was half score-settling and half self-justification, delivering a vicious [...]
Zoom has bought Five9 for $14.9bn but it will need to work hard to find its niche post-pandemic July 21, 2021 As the pressure for workers to return to the office continues to grow, Zoom is looking to a future where video conferencing software isn’t a replacement for in person social interaction. It is clear that most businesses will expect their employees to return to the office for at least part of the working week. What [...]
Stripe: Fintech needs to work in tandem with traditional banks, not see them as the enemy July 21, 2021 Necessity may be the mother of invention, but it has a second child in collaboration. When it comes to crunch moments and serious challenges, the human tendency is to put differences aside and work together to find solutions. Take the vaccine rollout. The whole program is an enormous collaboration of academic institutions, public bodies, and [...]