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A discussion of the defining ethical challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, featuring world-renowned experts in ethics, public health, law, economics, public policy, and beyond. Hosted by Joshua Preiss, Director of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Minnesota State University, Mankato and the author of Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century (Routledge 2021). Visit pandemic-ethics.com for more information on recent and upcoming episodes.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Covid-19 ethical challenges • vaccine mandates, trials, prioritization, equitable distribution • intellectual property and “People’s Vaccine” • pandemic modeling, evidence for lockdowns • essential workers, care work, nursing, childcare • business obligations • race, inequality, poverty • debt, property law, recovery policyThis podcast examines ethical challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic through conversations with scholars and practitioners in philosophy, law, economics, public health, and related fields. Across episodes, it focuses on how governments, employers, and other institutions should make decisions under uncertainty, including what it means to “trust the science,” what kinds of evidence are sufficient for major interventions, and how models and data shape policy choices.
A major theme is vaccine ethics: the moral and legal considerations around mandates, fair allocation when supply is limited, and the responsibilities of states, businesses, and associations in requiring or facilitating vaccination. Related discussions address the global dimensions of vaccination, including intellectual property, incentives for pharmaceutical research and development, and proposals aimed at improving worldwide access—especially for poorer countries.
The show also explores the pandemic’s economic and social fallout, including rising sovereign debt and the question of what fair repayment and debt relief might require from governments, creditors, and international institutions. It considers how existing legal and economic structures—such as property law—can entrench inequality and insecurity during crises, and what reforms might support a more inclusive recovery.
Attention is given to essential work and care: the conditions faced by nurses, childcare providers, and other care workers, and what ethical obligations societies have toward those who take on risk to keep others safe and supported. Episodes also address how historical injustice and racial economic disparities influence vulnerability to harm and shape the stakes of public policy responses.
| Episodes: |
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Should Vaccination Be Mandatory? 2021-May-04 44 minutes |
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Modeling the Covid-19 Pandemic 2021-Apr-05 42 minutes |
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Responsibility for Debt and Crisis 2021-Mar-22 47 minutes |
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Covid, Poverty, and Intellectual Property 2021-Feb-24 42 minutes |
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Covid-19 and the Future of Work 2021-Feb-17 34 minutes |
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Vaccine Ethics 2021-Feb-08 27 minutes |
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Childcare in the Time of Covid 2021-Feb-01 27 minutes |
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Nursing in a Pandemic 2021-Jan-18 31 minutes |
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Business Ethics in a Pandemic 2021-Jan-10 48 minutes |
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Care in Crisis 2021-Jan-04 52 minutes |
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Race, Justice, and the Pandemic 2020-Dec-16 35 minutes |
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Who Gets the Vaccine First? 2020-Dec-10 25 minutes |
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Property Law and the Pandemic 2020-Dec-02 22 minutes |
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Risk, Ethics, and Public Policy During the Covid-19 Pandemic. 2020-Nov-22 45 minutes |