Consider This from NPR - 1 Year, 400,000 Dead: What Could Change This Week About America’s Pandemic Response

President-elect Joe Biden has outlined a plan to administer 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in his administration's first 100 days. But before that he'll have to convince Congress to pay for it.

NPR White House correspondent Scott Detrow spoke to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris about that, and her reaction to the siege at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Listen to more of their interview on the NPR Politics Podcast on Apple or Spotify.

It's been almost a full year since the first case of coronavirus was detected on Jan. 20, 2019 in Washington state. NPR science correspondent Allison Aubrey looks back at what lessons the U.S. has learned — and what lessons we're still learning.

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Consider This from NPR - BONUS: Inside The Capitol Siege

In this episode from the team at NPR's Embedded, hear the stories of two NPR teams that spent January 6th on the grounds of the Capitol — and stories from a lawmaker, photographer, and police officer who were inside the building.

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Consider This from NPR - Their Family Members Are QAnon Followers — And They’re At A Loss What To Do About It

The QAnon conspiracy theory originated in 2017, when an anonymous online figure, "Q" started posting on right-wing message boards. Q claims to have top secret government clearance. Q's stories range from false notions about COVID-19 to a cabal running the U.S. government to the claim there's a secret world of satanic pedophiles. This culminates in the belief that President Trump is a kind of savior figure.

Today, U.S. authorities are increasingly regarding QAnon as a domestic terror threat — especially following last week's insurrection at the Capitol. But the people in the best position to address that threat are the families of Q followers — and they're at a loss about how to do it.

Some of those family members spoke with us about how their family members started following QAnon and how that has affected their relationships.

Travis View researches right-wing conspiracies and hosts the podcast QAnon Anonymous. He explains how the QAnon story is not all that different from digital marketing tactics, and how followers become detached from reality.

Dannagal Young is an associate professor of communications at the University of Delaware and studies why people latch onto political conspiracy theories. She share some ways to help family members who are seemingly lost down one of these conspiracy rabbit holes.

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Short Wave - Micro Wave: How ‘Bout Dem Apple…Seeds

Many folks eat an apple and then throw out the core. It turns out, the core is perfectly ok to eat - despite apple seeds' association with the poison cyanide. In today's episode, host Maddie Sofia talks to producer Thomas Lu about how apple seeds could potentially be toxic to humans but why, ultimately, most people don't have to worry about eating the whole apple. And they go through some listener mail.

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Short Wave - How COVID-19 Affects The Brain

Many patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19 continue to have symptoms of brain injury after they are discharged. For many, brain function improves as they recover, but some are likely to face long-term disability. As NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton explains, research into all the ways the coronavirus affects the brain is ongoing but research shows it can affect everything from loss of smell to memory problems. Read Jon's piece here.

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Consider This from NPR - House Votes To Impeach, All Eyes On McConnell Amid Concerns About More Violence

House Democrats — joined by 10 Republicans — voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday. Now the process moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he hasn't made a final decision — and that he'll listen to the legal arguments presented in the Senate. GOP strategist Scott Jennings, who is familiar with McConnell's thinking, spoke to NPR about why that might be.

No matter what McConnell does, Trump will not be president by this time next week. But between now and then, there are growing concerns about more violence in Washington, D.C., and in cities around the country, as NPR's Greg Allen has reported.

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Short Wave - Should Black People Get Race Adjustments In Kidney Medicine?

As the U.S. continues to grapple with systemic racism, some in the medical community are questioning whether the diagnostic tools they use may be contributing to racial health disparities.

As NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy reports, that debate is playing out prominently in the world of kidney medicine — specifically, in the use of estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR. The diagnostic formula most commonly used to assess the health of patients with chronic kidney disease may be unintentionally contributing to poor outcomes — and reinforcing racist thinking.

Read Maria's piece here.

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Consider This from NPR - Extremists Face Charges As House Moves Toward Impeachment

California Rep. Adam Schiff, who led House Democrats in their first effort to impeach President Trump, tells NPR what they are hoping to achieve in doing it a second time. He spoke to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

And while a debate about the consequences for Trump plays out on Capitol Hill, his supporters are facing consequences of their own in federal court.

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Short Wave - CubeSat: Little Satellite, Big Deal

Meet the CubeSat: a miniaturized satellite that's been growing in sophistication. In the last 20 years, over 1,000 CubeSats have been launched into space for research and exploration. We talk about three CubesSat missions, and how this satellite technology ventured from college campuses to deep space. (Encore) Tweet to Emily Kwong at @emilykwong1234 and talk #scicomm with Joe on @joesbigidea. And you can reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

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Consider This from NPR - America’s Vaccine Plan: What’s Working — And What Isn’t

More than 25 million vaccines have been distributed by the federal government, but only slightly more than one-third of those have made it into peoples' arms. Vaccine mega-sites are opening in major cities around the country as local officials try to speed up vaccination.

There's also been pressure to expand the groups of people who are eligible for the vaccines. From Nashville, WPLN's Blake Farmer reports on how that pressure is often forcing those who administer the shots will to take people's word for it on whether they qualify.

One state is doing better than every other when it comes to giving shots: West Virginia. NPR's Yuki Noguchi explains why.

Additional reporting this episode from NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin, who's looked into how to improve America's vaccine rollout.

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