Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Year in Pandemic
In this episode of the Breaking the Fever podcast, we speak with Charles Hecker and Michele Wucker about political polarization, rising inequalities, climate, and debt. They revisit their risk assessments from early 2020 and share their perspectives for the year ahead.
We discuss:
- How 2020 avoided the worst
- How 2021 will be very challenging on the fronts of inequality, climate, etc
- Why not every society is rising to the occasion and showcasing resilience
- Why trust in institutions and personal agency are both needed for success
- How, with the pandemic, we’ve all become daily practitioners of risk management
Charles Hecker is Global Research Director at Control Risks. He is responsible for Control Risks’ thought leadership on geopolitics, global security, political risk, and their impact on international business, including the annual RiskMap process. Charles led a nuanced discussion on how COVID-19 affects political and security risk dynamics in 2020, revisiting Control Risks’ 2020 Riskmap in light of these developments.
Michele Wucker is the author of the international bestseller The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore. Wucker coined the term “gray rhino” to draw attention to the obvious risks that are neglected despite—in fact, often because of—their size and likelihood. The metaphor has moved markets and shaped financial policies around the world, and her 2019 TED Talk about gray rhinos has attracted more than 2 million views. She is a sought-after global strategist, speaker, and commentator.
