News and Happenings

Major crises like COVID-19 are managed from one place. With the election approaching, there will be many takes on the politics but Andy wants to take you inside the West Wing bubble. He starts with Pete Souza, who photographed the Reagan and Obama administrations, to talk about what it’s like inside the West Wing of the White House. If you had an image of beautiful offices and wide hallways because of a certain TV show, forget about all that. You can see for yourself in Pete’s new documentary, The Way I See It. Plus, stick around for a surprise guest who also knows a thing or two about The West Wing.

Andy talks with Nicholas Bagley, co-author of their recent New York Times piece on the razor’s-edge status of the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act, and the pandemic. Nicholas is a law professor and former Justice Department attorney; he has also advised Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on the pandemic. This episode prepares you for the monumental and rapid progression of the potential appointment of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the presidential election, and the ACA case on November 10. Andy and Nicholas are considered the foremost experts on this topic and this episode will be the authoritative take on this subject. 

Andy talks to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat governing in a largely red state with its share of income and health challenges. Beshear lays out his simple leadership formula: kindness. They talk about how the country could be unified in a COVID-19 response and the impact of Breonna Taylor’s death in Louisville. Plus, they reflect on the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

You do not want to miss this riveting conversation between Andy and The Atlantic’s Ed Yong, the journalist Andy thinks has done the best job writing about and analyzing the pandemic. They discuss America’s failed response, how this whole thing might end, and why wanting things to go back to “normal” isn’t the right mindset. 

To kick things off, Andy and former presidential candidate Julián Castro wrestle with the recent revelations from Bob Woodward, including that the President acknowledged the gravity of the pandemic in interviews with the journalist back in February. Despite that start, the conversation ends in a hopeful place about where the country is headed and Julián’s new Lemonada Media podcast, Our America. Plus: Andy announces the show’s latest donation!

This toolkit episode is all about testing with Michael Mina, Harvard infectious disease specialist and laboratory director, and Robby Sikka, who helped develop the SalivaDirect test with the NBA in partnership with Yale University. Andy asks these experts your email and voicemail questions about the new wave of tests on the horizon, their reliability, how they work, when to get tested, plus some potential new creative at-home tests.  What would you name an at-home sewage test? Tell Andy on Twitter!

In maybe the most heated In the Bubble episode, Andy talks with two former FDA commissioners — Mark McClellan from the George W. Bush administration and Robert Califf from the Obama administration — and confronts them about the politicization of the FDA under President Trump. The former commissioners are hesitant to criticize the current head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, but Andy pushes them pretty hard on Hahn’s inaccurate statements regarding convalescent plasma and what effect that might have on the public’s trust in the FDA as the agency gears up to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.

A Monday Toolkit episode — this one focused on the mystery of COVID-19 long haulers, people who report an array of long-term symptoms. We’ve got two experts to break down what we know — and don’t know — from both a clinical and research standpoint. Emergency room physician Craig Spencer and virologist Angela Rasmussen answer your voicemails and emails about why some people become long-haulers and others don’t, what, if any, patterns are emerging, where to go for help, and how we are trying to figure it all out. 

This Monday Toolkit episode is timed to help parents, teachers, and students figure out what to expect and how to make it through a challenging school year. Two incredible guests, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and former Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. answer your questions about remote learning, special needs, mental health, social and emotional needs, and equity issues. They also talk about how the decisions over who to bring back — and when — are likely to work. 

This Monday Toolkit episode is timed to help parents, teachers, and students figure out what to expect and how to make it through a challenging school year. Two incredible guests, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson and former Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. answer your questions about remote learning, special needs, mental health, social and emotional needs, and equity issues. They also talk about how the decisions over who to bring back — and when — are likely to work.