UpFront

Stephen Macekura on why GDP growth is a “Mismeasure of Progress”; plus, your Covid call-in questions answered

Oakland coliseum vaccine site
A look at the FEMA-run Oakland Coliseum vaccination site, which is slated to close April 11, 2021. Photo from Twitter from Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

On this show:

0:08 – It’s Monday, so we’re speaking with Mitch Jeserich about what’s going on in Washington, D.C., including President Biden’s infrastructure package and economic team. Mitch Jeserich hosts Letters and Politics, weekdays at 10AM on KPFA.

0:34 – We take your COVID science call-ins with Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley — today we talk about watching case numbers to assess another surge, waiting to make travel plans, and anecdotal experiences with COVID vaccines affecting menstrual cycles.

1:08 – Stephen Macekura is professor of International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International studies. He joins host Brian Edwards-Tiekert to talk about challenging the public perception of GDP growth and his new book, The Mismeasure of Progress: Economic Growth and its Critics.