As we await the FDA’s final decision on booster shots, Andy talks with the person tasked with making the final determination: Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. Only on In the Bubble will you get a chance to hear how she’s approaching this decision, how close we are to vaccines for kids under 12, and more from the person in charge at the Food and Drug Administration.

Andy gets back to basics with Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett. They get into how and why viruses mutate, why the variants don’t seem to be causing too much trouble for the mRNA vaccines, and how our actions are, as Laurie puts it, “aiding and abetting” COVID. Plus, her big takeaways for how a little empathy at home and in our systemic approach can change the trajectory of the pandemic.

Andy calls up The Atlantic’s Ed Yong, who won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the pandemic, to talk about how we got where we are now and where we need to go next. They cover what went wrong up to this point, why we can’t think of vaccines as a panacea, and what Ed thinks about giving people in the US booster shots before many people around the world get their first dose. Plus, Andy weighs in on President Biden’s vaccinate-or-test requirements.

Andy and Dr. Fauci cover all the latest questions you have, including boosters, variants beyond Delta, breakthrough infections, and vaccinating the globe. Plus, what Dr. Fauci and the Biden administration are doing to prepare for the next pandemic.

Revisit this episode from June, where Andy starts by answering the one question no one else will about the Delta variant. Then, journalist Jessica Yellin joins Andy to discuss his new book Preventable. They talk about key figures like President Trump, Jared Kushner, and Dr. Deborah Birx, what lessons we need to take with us from the pandemic, and why we should feel hopeful now. Plus, you’ll hear some of the most riveting clips from the book read by actor Bradley Whitford.

Andy goes to Florida — ground zero in the battle over how to respond to COVID — to hear directly from kids and what they have to say about the pandemic. Two young people have been working to make adults hear their voices: 21-year-old David Hogg and 14-year-old Alana Nesser, both of Parkland, Florida. In 2018, adults failed to keep David and his classmates at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School safe when one of the worst school shootings in history occurred. A few short years later, Alana and her friends have again been left vulnerable by adults in the debate over masks. Hear what kids are saying to one another about trauma, and about what we as adults can do to understand and help.

With 180,000 reported COVID cases in kids last week alone, and school just getting started, Andy has a vital conversation with pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. David Kimberlin about how the Delta variant has changed everything we thought we knew about children and COVID. They cover what David’s seeing on the ground in his hospital in Birmingham, the latest on vaccines for kids under 12, and how to think about the incredibly complicated issue of in-person school. Plus, what parents can do to get school districts to re-think opposition to mask requirements.

Listen in as Andy gets a Global Pandemic 101 course from Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust. Farrar gives a clear picture of the effort and urgency of vaccinating the globe, the vital role of the US on the world stage, and the criticality of the next 270 days. Plus, hear their plans to force the issue with world leaders.

Andy and former FDA commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan detail the next big moves in the COVID battle including FDA approvals, what’s happening with clinical trials for kids, boosters, mandates, and what the adverse reporting system really says about vaccine safety. Plus, they discuss the #COVIDSafeZones initiative launched with 30 other public officials.

So you’ve been vaccinated. And now you’re hearing that you could get infected? Or be contagious? Andy gets to the bottom of this when he calls up one of the clearest explainers he knows, Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo. They discuss why although you may get infected with SARS-CoV-2 eventually, vaccinated people are still unlikely to get COVID-19, and what that means. Plus, Andy breaks down the new recommendation about boosters.