The year 2020 could go down in history. As the pandemic spread and the economy screeched to a halt, in the U.S., glaring income inequality and persistent racial disparities came to light. Then followed the contentious presidential election, further highlighting deep-seated divides. So, was 2020 the worst year ever? What can we learn from it? For our last episode of the year, we asked the renowned author Walter Isaacson for his insights and what history, and its great figures can teach us.

As COVID-19 vaccinations begin across the U.S. and the new president soon be inaugurated, what can we expect from 2021? Walter Isaacson, a well-known author of bestselling biographies, is our first guest of the year. Recently he volunteered for the Pfizer/BioNTech clinical trial, where new technologies were used to develop a vaccine, innovations created by scientists he is writing about in his new book. We asked Mr. Isaacson what we can learn from our history and these scientific breakthroughs.