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Georgetown Law School
Director of the O'Neill Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University; Professor of Global Health Law at Georgetown Law School and Director of the World Health Organization’s Center on Public Health Law
PROFILE
Lawrence Gostin
Guest
FROM Lawrence Gostin
To the Point
Zika and the Politics of Public Health Does the Zika virus really cause the birth defect microcephaly? From Brazil's Amazon Basin to the favelas of Sao Paulo, researchers are looking for answers. We hear what's being learned on the ground about the deadly mix of over-crowding, extreme poverty, drought and climate change. They're combining to foster the breed of mosquitos that carries Zika as well as other, deadly diseases. The World Health Organization's declared a "public health emergency" — but is also telling athletes and fans of the summer Olympics not to worry.
To the Point
Dallas Ebola Patient Dies; Enhanced Screening at U.S. Airports Thomas Eric Duncan, America’s first Ebola patient—who flew here from Liberia—has died in the same Dallas hospital that initially turned him away. This comes as federal health officials announced they’ll start screening the temperatures of passengers whose travels began in West Africa. Lawrence Gostin is Director of the O’Neal Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University.
To the Point
Ebola Virus Spreads to Lagos, Nigeria Lagos, Nigeria, is a city of 21 million people — and the first large urban center hit by an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Tim Cocks of the Reuters news service reports that health officials call Lagos “a perfect environment for the virus to spread.” We’ll hear about efforts to prevent further spread of a deadly virus with no known cure, and about ethical questions: Should medications be administered even when they’ve never been tested on human beings? And who should be first to get them?
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To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?