News From the Control Tower - 12/16/2020
News from the Control Tower: Our weekly curated list of news stories affecting you and your finances.
This week’s reads include:
1. Why are mRNA vaccines so exciting?
The very first vaccines for COVID-19 to complete phase 3 testing are an entirely new type: mRNA vaccines.
2. Skin in the Game: Wall Street’s answer to the student-debt crisis
Unlike a traditional loan, an income-share agreement (ISA) is directly tied to a graduate’s performance in the labor market. The income stream is then securitized and sold to investors.
3. Getting Covid Vaccines to People Will Cost States Billions They Don’t Have
Federal government is providing vaccines and some supplies, but states must hire medical workers, set up clinics, provide community outreach
4. A Netflix doc wants to fix our food system with capitalism. 'Gather' argues that’s how it broke.
Gather, a beautifully shot film directed by Sanjay Rawal (Food Chains, Why We Run), traces three efforts by Native Americans to reclaim their ancestral foodways.
5. Toyota's game-changing solid-state battery en route for 2021 debut
A trip of 500 km on one charge. A recharge from zero to full in 10 minutes. All with minimal safety concerns. The solid-state battery being introduced by Toyota promises to be a game changer not just for electric vehicles but for an entire industry.
Bonus: Trees are more social than us these days.
Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another?