This week’s theme, courtesy of Tony Soprano: “Is the U.S. over?”

Both Tammy and Jay have new pieces out on our failure to curb the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes. The country has seemed unable to tackle complex problems. Have we learned anything? What now?

0:00 – We talk about the vaccine rollout in the U.S. and our ominously poor start to distribution. Tammy hates on federalism and the States counterplan (debate joke). Plus: should health care workers have the right to refuse the vaccine?

23:45 – At the end of 2020, Beijing-based economic analyst Dan Wang offered this year-in-review newsletter full of global, historical observations of the U.S., spurring much chatter on China Twitter.

Is Chinese society experiencing the equivalent of the U.S.’s “golden age of capitalism”? How do most Americans imagine the life of an “average” person in China—you know, like Pangzai? And is the U.S. in a “declining empire” / “rentier” stage of its history?

1:09:30 – A listener question from Swoo: What were some of your favorite reads in 2020?

* Tammy: James Baldwin, “Stranger in the Village” (essay)

* Andy: Nancy Fraser, “Feminism, Capitalism, and the Cunning of History” (paper)

* Jay: Greg Kot, I’ll Take You There; Mark Kram, Jr., Ghosts of Manila

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Vaxx dreams; American decline vs. Chinese ambition; and 2020 favs

Time To Say Goodbye