6 Minutes or Less: Gene Sperling on His Parents, Race & Economic Dignity

This newsletter-only feature will be available only to paid subscribers: I ask a thought leader or expert to educate/enlighten/explain an issue via audio in 6 Minutes or Less.

Issue: Gene Sperling’s new book is “Economic Dignity." He also wrote a moving tribute to his mother, Doris, who died last month. The two pieces connected for me.

Question: I asked Sperling in a recent Zoom conversation if they were connected.

Guest: Gene Sperling is the former director of the National Economic Council under President Obama and President Clinton.

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The World

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was heckled and told to “go home” after he told DefundMPD marchers that he favors reforms over disbanding, as weekend rallies stretched nationwide and globally. (Star Tribune, Reuters, Financial Times)

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 80%, feel the country is spiraling out of control and by a 2-to-1 margin are more troubled by the actions of police in the killing of George Floyd than by violence at some protests. The poll also reveals striking partisan divides. (Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll)

Japan decided not join the U.S., Britain and others in issuing a statement scolding China for imposing a new security law. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi’s September trip to Germany for a historic meeting with all EU national leaders has been postponed. (Reuters, South China Morning Post)

HSBC warned Britain against a ban on the equipment maker Huawei in 5G telecoms networks, claiming it will face reprisals in China. Meanwhile, internal memos show how Huawei pivoted to counter Washington’s charges with lawsuits, reorganization; “the company has entered a state of war.” (The Sunday Telegraph, Wall Street Journal)

In a significant shift, Boris Johnson ordered ministers to lift the lockdown quickly to avoid a possible “jobs bloodbath” — the loss of three million jobs. (The Sunday Times)

The European economy is “through the worst,” but activity remains depressed. Shopping, leisure and work-related travel all begin to improve but tourism is subdued. (Financial Times)

AstraZeneca has approached Gilead about a potential merger. The $96 billion deal would be a record in health care. (Bloomberg)

Summer camps kids will be America’s coronavirus test subjects. (New York Times)

Profiles & Reads

Bryan Stevenson is a civil-rights lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human-rights organization that challenges convictions, advocates for criminal-justice reform and racial justice, and created the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, in Montgomery, AL, which honors the victims of lynching and other forms of racial terror during the Jim Crow era. He discussed the frustration behind the George Floyd protests. (New Yorker)

Asia has prospered because Pax Americana, which has held since the end of World War II, provided a favorable strategic context. But now, the troubled U.S.-Chinese relationship raises profound questions about Asia’s future and the shape of the emerging international order. Will the new configuration enable further success or bring dangerous instability? (Foreign Affairs)

The Loneliest Everest Expedition. No energy-bar wrappers litter base camp. No climbers clog the Hillary Step. Thanks to the pandemic, Mount Everest is taking a much needed break after last year’s record crowding. But amid the COVID-19 outbreak, three Chinese teams scaled the world’s highest peak. (Outside)

Worst. Deal. Ever. Fifteen years after Eric Baker was fired from StubHub, the ticketing giant he cofounded, he bought it back for $4 billion—weeks before coronavirus utterly wrecked the business. Revenge isn’t always sweet. (Forbes)

How Germany got coronavirus right. Combined with its six-week shutdown, Germany’s “track and trace” system has been instrumental in stalling the spread of Covid-19 and preventing it from overwhelming the health system. (Financial Times)

The Lessons of 1884. When Grover Cleveland clinched the Democratic nomination and faced an allegation of misconduct, he wrote up a new political playbook. (The Atlantic)

Comedian Sarah Cooper has become one of the hottest comics of the coronavirus era with her social media videos, in which she lip-syncs some of Trump’s most controversial pandemic-related pronouncements. He’s blocked her on Twitter. But she says he’s a fabulous “head writer.” (Los Angeles Times)

Good News

Japan companies are developing cool face masks as summer approaches. (Kyodo)

Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard explains the virtues of solitude — and the secret to a life well lived: “Eternity is awfully long, especially near the end.” (Financial Times)

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