It was an ongoing question before the pandemic, but coronavirus has made it all the more urgent. With global inequality and extreme poverty on the rise, how do we patch up the many holes in the world's social safety nets? The idea of governments providing all adults with a set amount of cash on a regular basis, no stri

(5/4/21) Whether we realize it or not, all of us participate in the social contract every day. Caring for others, paying taxes and benefiting from public services are a major part of what binds us together as a society. Drawing on evidence and examples from around the world for her new book What We Owe Each Other: A Ne

The idea of a social contract between the individual and the state is a staple of political philosophy. But what happens when that contract is threatened by forces beyond the control of any government, like a climate crisis or, right now, a global pandemic? Stephen Sackur speaks to Baroness Minouche Shafik, director of

Covid-19 has upended economies across the globe. In the fourth season of Stephanomics, we’ll be taking a closer look at the fragile path to recovery and which nations are doing better than others. This first podcast of the new season is brought to you by the letter K, or more precisely the K-shaped recovery which sees