COVID-19

As of September 1, 2024, the part of an Oregon law that allowed possession of small amounts of psychoactive substances for personal use only under penalty of a misdemeanor was repealed. The decriminalization, which Oregonians voted for in a referendum in 2020, was intended to reduce the social stigma of addicted individuals, reduce overdose deaths, and ease users’ pathways to rehab.

New possibilities in rural areas: digital tools, political decisions, and transparent administration can make the countryside an attractive place, bringing together innovation and quality of life. Germany\'s cities are booming. From 2010 to 2020, more and more people moved to the country\'s urban centers. However, public discourse sometimes seems to suggest that there is no life outside Berlin, Hamburg, or Munich. Of course, it is not true.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about several socio-economic changes. However, one of them is undoubtedly the change in alcohol consumption among Czech consumers. Despite the fact that the aggregated data from the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) showed overall decline in average alcohol consumption in the Czech Republic during 2021, for some most-risky groups of consumers the situation has worsened.

In this episode, we talk about European resilience and solidarity, how the EU has responded to the COVID-19 crisis, and the importance of European public.

There are undoubtedly many factors that determine how individual governments dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one of the main aspects that has determined the success of mitigating the health impacts of the pandemic is the level of public trust in government institutions, as noted in numerous scientific publications.

The EU Commission’s (EC) spring forecast, demonstrating the expected real growth for 2022 and 2023 was published exactly a day before the preliminary data for growth in the first quarter of 2022.

The global covid crisis has hit cities in Germany, Europe, and all around the world. A core characteristic of cities is the crowds of people you see in their centers. Cities are the place where people meet, interact, and exchange ideas.

While for the second year now we have been tracking new numbers of coronavirus-related cases and deaths several times a day, and estimates for the cost of the economic lockdown range between two and four billion CZK a day (for the Czech Republic), another crucial figure has escaped our attention.

An exasperated call from a friend of mine during lockdown described the weary situation of kids during COVID-19. My friend\'s child, as he told me fumingly, is attending his elementary school classes online. As expected, it didn’t go smoothly.

The vaccinated are already ignoring the pandemic on a personal level - and the unvaccinated are too. (Un)vaccination has become a hard political stance and nothing can be done about it.