Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy
Exploring Science in Davos: EP2 Studying bones at the AO Research Institute Davos
Before 1960, broken bones were treated simply by using plaster casts or traction. Then 13 Swiss surgeons began rethinking fracture treatment: they standardised instruments, screws and nails, scientifically evaluated every operation, and started training surgeons. On their tour of Davos’s scientific communities, Sara and Michele go behind the scenes to see what new technologies are currently being developed.
The AO Foundation in Davos has been a...
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Exploring Science in Davos: EP1 Orthopaedics gathering at the AO Davos Courses 2022
The Swiss town of Davos is famous for mountain slopes, winter sports and the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. But did you know that it also attracts scientists and doctors from all over the world? In this six-part video series, SWI swissinfo.ch journalists Sara Ibrahim and Michele Andina take you on a journey to discover five of Davos’s research institutes.
In this first episode, they take you to the AO Davos Courses, a two-week...
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Using sound to find prehistoric ruins under Lake Lucerne
Construction workers got a surprise recently while laying a pipeline underneath Lake Lucerne in central Switzerland. On the lake floor they found the traces of a prehistoric village! This finally confirmed a long-standing theory among archaeologists, who believed that people had lived in the area thousands of years ago.
But why were the traces of their home so deep within the lake? Across Switzerland there are about 500 pile dwelling sites, but...
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Why these Japanese patients wanted to die in Switzerland
In this second part of our two-part series on assisted suicide, SWI reporter Kaoru Uda tells host Susan Misicka what it was like to accompany two Japanese patients who came to Switzerland to die.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland for a global audience.
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Why this Swiss doctor supports assisted suicide
Every year, over 1,000 seriously ill people end their lives in Switzerland with the help of suicide assistants.
Assisted suicide is legal in several countries, including Switzerland, Canada and the Netherlands. A handful of other countries – like Germany and Colombia – are working out the legal and practical details.
Some people even travel great distances to die in Switzerland because assisted suicide is illegal where they live. For example,...
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Meet couples saying ‘I do’ to gay marriage
Now that Switzerland has approved marriage for all, host Susan Misicka talks with some couples who explain why it's important to them. We also hear from opponents of Swiss legislation granting same-sex couples the right to marry.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland...
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Why we still need pens and pencils
In this encore episode of The Swiss Connection, we visit Swiss century-old pen and pencil maker Caran d'Ache. Podcast host Susan Misicka takes a tour of the factory and feels a bit silly when Caran d’Ache President Carole Hubscher sees her hasty choice of writing instrument.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and...
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Typeface designer is in love with letters
Swiss designers gave us the big-name Helvetica and Frutiger typefaces in the 20th century. Now a modern-day designer from Basel is collaborating on a new font that we might soon be seeing a lot more of. Nina Stoessinger of Frere-Jones Type in Brooklyn talks about inspiration and challenges.
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Decrypting cryptocurrency and blockchain
How soon will we start buying our groceries with Bitcoin? What kind of scams do we need to be aware of? And why is Switzerland so sweet on cryptocurrencies and blockchain? SWI finance correspondent Matt Allen gives host Susan Misicka an overview of what he's learned while covering this scene over the past several years.
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Why people love the Locarno Film Festival
A gorgeous location for a film festival: Locarno in southern Switzerland. The international event features about 200 films in 10 days. But what makes the Locarno Film Festival so special? In this episode, SWI culture editor Eduardo Simantob tells podcast host Susan Misicka why he loves it.
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Meet the Swiss woman bringing open water swimming to Boston
Swiss architect Renata von Tscharner has devoted over two decades to improving the public spaces along the Charles River in Massachusetts. She even hopes to get people swimming in Boston's so-called "dirty water" on a regular basis. We met her at the Rhine River in her native Basel.
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Are nuclear weapons really banned?
In this episode host Susan Misicka introduces our sister podcast, Inside Geneva. Nuclear weapons were banned by international treaty at the start of 2021. But the treaty doesn’t apply to any of the nuclear powers, since none of them signed it. So are nukes really banned? Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes talks to Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Beatrice Fihn of the International Campaign to Ban...
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Should kids be sweating for our chocolate cravings?
The success of Swiss chocolate depends on cocoa beans harvested far away, often with the help of minors. In this episode we discuss whether it's OK for children to work, and how to figure out if kids helped make your candy bar.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland...
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What soil sounds like and why it matters
What does soil sound like, and what do those sounds mean? We find out from the world’s first scientist to use acoustics to research the soil and underground biodiversity. Also, we explore some of Zurich's greenspaces with a conservation biologist.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages...
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Are electric cars and planes the way to go?
Switzerland missed its target to reduce its carbon footprint in 2020. But there are still some promising developments when it comes to electric mobility in Switzerland – on the roads and up in the air. In this episode we take a ride in an electric plane and kick the tires on Swiss electric car infrastructure.
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How to clean up the gold trade
In this follow-up to "The Dirt on Digging for Gold" we hear about some measures to make the gold trade more sustainable. Swiss anti-corruption champion Mark Pieth provides insight into the social problems sparked by gold mining. And members of the Swiss Better Gold Association share their experiences in Latin America.
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Strange days: checking in with Swiss people in America
The past year has been a strange time for all of us. It can be even harder if you’re an expat. One in ten Swiss people lives outside of Switzerland. In this episode, we hear from a few Swiss citizens who are living in the United States. They tell us how they’re experiencing the coronavirus pandemic and politics in their adopted homeland.
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What Covid-19 tells us about the pharma industry
Switzerland is the home of some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. But when it comes to coronavirus vaccines, the Swiss pharma giants are not part of the discussion. How did they miss out? Or did they? And what does it mean for the next pandemic?
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How to catch a child sex offender
The case of a Swiss couple abusing Indian children – and getting away with it – shows the limits of the international police network.
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland for a global audience.
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Crypto – a spy thriller made in Switzerland
Multiple spy agencies, secret documents, international intrigue, and a Swiss company's encryption machines are at the heart of this episode. But does anybody really know the whole story?
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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland for a global audience.
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