DeepSummary
The first section discusses why baby boomers, despite being a wealthy generation, are surprisingly frugal and not spending down their assets as economists predicted. Various reasons are explored, such as a desire to pass on inheritance, habits formed during COVID-19, and concerns about longevity and potential future care costs.
The second part examines the challenges in studying and understanding menstruation since most animals don't experience it. Recent innovations like mouse models, organoids, and organs-on-chips are paving the way for better understanding of female reproductive health.
The final section looks at how the shipping industry, a major polluter, is exploring wind-assisted propulsion using modern sail technologies like rigid sails, rotors, and kite sails. This could help reduce emissions as the industry aims for net zero by 2050.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Baby boomers are unexpectedly frugal in retirement, contrary to economic predictions, due to factors like inheritance plans, post-COVID habits, and longevity concerns.
- Lack of menstruating animal models has hindered research into female reproductive health, but innovations like mouse models and organoids are providing new insights.
- The shipping industry is exploring wind-assisted propulsion using modern sail technologies to reduce emissions and meet sustainability goals.
- Mice can be induced to menstruate artificially, enabling study of the biological processes involved.
- Several sail technologies like rigid sails, rotors, and kite sails are being tested to harness wind power for shipping vessels.
- Understanding menstruation could improve treatments for conditions like endometriosis and advance overall women's health research.
- Inclusion of wind power could reduce shipping emissions by around 25% for some vessels.
- Inheritance plans, cautious post-pandemic behavior, and longevity concerns drive baby boomers' reluctance to spend assets in retirement.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Economists have for a while pointed out that people in retirement actually don't spend down their savings as quickly as the simple model suggests.“ by Callum Williams
- “Because we have not traditionally been able to do that with menstruation. We for a long time have not really understood this very dynamic process that the entire lining of an organ goes through once a month.“ by Rachel Dobbs
- “It allows captains to cut back on the use of their engines, and that saves fuel and it saves emissions. And for some vessels, the use of wind power as an auxiliary form of propulsion can amount to around savings of 25% or so.“ by Paul Markilli
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Episode Information
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
6/18/24
The post-war generation reaped the benefits of peace and prosperity. Yet rather than spend that bounty, retired boomers are hoarding their riches–and upending economists’ expectations. The science of menstruation is baffling, partly because most animals don’t do it. Now clever innovations may help improve women’s health (9:13). And how old-fashioned wind-power is blowing new life into the shipping industry–and cutting its emissions (16:13).
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