Author: Slate Podcasts

There are over 60 vaccines for the coronavirus currently in development. Four of them are already being tested in humans. As researchers move at breakneck speed to find a vaccine, they’re debating breaking (or at least bending) the rules that ensure the end product is safe.

How do we balance speed with safety in the rush to develop a vaccine?

Guest: Dr. Timothy Lahey, an infectious diseases doctor, ethicist, and vaccine researcher at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

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In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, cruises were the poster-child of viral spread. For the world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Cruise Line, the problems began in February and quickly escalated, as more passengers and crew fell ill, and Carnival struggled to dock its cruise liners. As ships went from floating cities to floating quarantines, what did the bosses know, and when did they know it? 

Guest: Austin Carr, reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek. Read his story.

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More than 700 cases of COVID-19 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota can be traced back to the city’s Smithfield pork packaging plant. Weeks before the coronavirus outbreak was confirmed, employees were asking for protective measures that didn’t materialize until it was too late. And Smithfield isn’t unique: Meatpacking facilities across the country are also struggling to minimize the spread of the virus. 

Guest: Kooper Caraway, president of the Sioux Falls AFL-CIO. 

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No one thought 2020 was going to be a boring election year. Several key Senate seats are in play, presenting Democrats with a real shot at winning back the chamber. However, with an unstable economy and a critical phase of the campaign cycle going virtual, candidates are facing new challenges. 

Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer

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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers.

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Ever since COVID-19 surfaced in Florida, local journalists began wondering how the virus was going to impact nursing home residents and employees. For weeks the facilities and the state's health department were reluctant to release data on the more than 600 assisted care centers. On Saturday, Governor Ron DeSantis finally released a list of nursing homes with confirmed cases, but only after pressure from news outlets and the public.

Guest: Mary Ellen Klas, capital bureau chief for the Miami Herald.  

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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers.

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Before the U.S. can start opening back up, states will need to put systems in place for “contact tracing,” or meticulous tracking of the disease within communities. South Korea’s extensive tracing program has all but eliminated the spread of the virus within its borders. What will it take for the U.S. to do the same?

Guests: Raphael Rashid, a freelance journalist, and Dr. Mike Reid, professor at University of California, San Francisco

Host

Henry Grabar

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The summer is going to be marked by the slow process of learning to live with coronavirus looming. The United States is going to have to rethink what “normal” means.

Guest: Ed Yong, Science writer for The Atlantic

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Back in January, the Trump administration was caught flat footed in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Politico’s Dan Diamond took a look back at the past 20 years of pandemic preparedness in the United States and found that former administrations weren’t exactly proactive either. 

Guest: Dan Diamond, Health Reporter for POLITICO

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Washington is still struggling to put the U.S. economy on ice while we wait out the coronavirus. Maybe you’re expecting your government check this week. Maybe you’re a small business owner looking for a loan. Is help on the way? And, if not, what’s the hold-up?

Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. 

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