Social Distance
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Social Distance
Journalists from The Atlantic document the first 15 months of the coronavirus pandemic through regular phone calls. Listen in as Dr. Jim Hamblin, the producer Katherine Wells, and the comedian and the writer Maeve Higgins ask journalists, experts, and friends about the news and science behind the pa...
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Presenting: The Review, a new podcast from The Atlantic
On The Review, The Atlantic's writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves and how that shapes the way we understand the world. Please subscr...
How To Build A Happy Life: A new podcast from The Atlantic
Hello Social Distance listeners! We'd like to introduce you to a new show.
In this series, host Arthur Brooks digs into research and offers tool...
Is It Over?
Though the pandemic continues around the world, the end appears in sight in the United States. At the same time, this episode will mark the last one f...
Breakthrough Infections and Lonely Puppies
While case counts in the U.S. continue to drop, there are still headlines about variants and "breakthrough" infections that might worry you. Fortunate...
It's Time to Tango
Now that Jim's "Quite Possibly Wonderful Summer" is coming to fruition, a lot of listeners have been considering the present and future. Can you go to...
Dealing With Post-Pandemic Trauma
We've all been suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another, and as the U.S. starts to emerge, we'll need to reckon with that. The Atl...
Share the Vaccine 'Recipe'
When the Biden administration announced support for waiving COVID vaccine patents last week, it was met with praise, relief, skepticism, and alarm amo...
Long COVID Questions Answered
Writer F.T. Kola returns to recount her experience with long COVID. What explains its strange constellation of symptoms? Will it ever go away? And why...
The Consequences of Vaccine Nationalism
While wealthier countries reopen, India and the rest of the world face a terrifying new peak in the pandemic. How did it come to this? What can be don...
When Can I Take Off My Mask?
The pandemic has led to “hygiene theater,” which gives a false sense of security. As vaccination continues, people should feel able to abandon many pr...
The Johnson & Johnson Pause
Should the ‘pause’ in Johnson & Johnson vaccine worry us? Also, Jim got his first shot! But with so many people experiencing strong reactions to their...
We Need to Vaccinate Kids
Children may have been largely spared the worst of COVID-19, but many kids have still gotten seriously ill and died. Despite promising news this week,...
No Shirt. No Shoes. No Shots. No Service.
Vaccine passports are almost certainly in our near future. But what are they exactly? And with concerns about vaccine equity now complicated by partis...
A History of Pandemic Xenophobia & Racism
The recent shootings in Atlanta highlighted a surge of anti-Asian violence in the United States throughout the pandemic. Disease stigma and racism hav...
Have Case Numbers Plateaued?
Jim and Maeve answer listener vaccine questions and are joined by Alexis Madrigal, who explains the apparent plateau in cases (and why he’s begun to w...
It’s Been A Year
Jim and Katherine look back on a year of this pandemic podcast to what we’ve learned, what we haven’t, and what we can look forward to. (Also, Jim tal...
Is One Vaccine ‘Better’ Than Another?
With three vaccines now approved and news that the U.S. will have enough shots for every adult by the end of May, it feels like the country is turning...
Infections, Vaccinations, and Other Questions
Listeners with mild COVID-19 cases call with their questions. Jim explains why he thinks the summer could be wonderful. And Maeve shares nun news from...
‘A Disaster for Feminism’
Nearly a year ago, The Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis predicted the pandemic would be “a disaster for feminism” and far too many of her predictions...
A Forever Pandemic
Vaccines are a public good. And if we don’t make a lot more of them, COVID-19 may never really go away.
Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiology...
Can You Get Reinfected?
The Brazil variant raises a scary question — and reminds us that herd immunity needs to cross borders.
Also: Katherine shares the first e...
Have We Turned the Corner?
People are getting vaccinated, but it’s not happening quickly enough. Case counts are dropping fast, but a near-record number of people are still sick...
Who Gets The Next Shot?
Dr. Ruth Faden, an expert in biomedical ethics with Johns Hopkins University, has helped vaccine drives answer some tough questions: Who should be ahe...
Mutations
Last month, we learned about the “UK variant.” Now, more mutations from South Africa and Brazil have made headlines. How bad are they? And should you...
How Badly Is Vaccination Going?
We were supposed to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year. We’ve fallen well short of that. Should we be worried?
Jim and Kather...
The Vaccine is Here! What Now?
We're very relieved, but now entering the strange time of vaccine purgatory.
Staff writer Sarah Zhang joins Jim and Katherine to answer your que...
Americans Are Going Hungry
The pandemic has brought unprecedented economic suffering and yet, Congress hasn’t passed new relief since March. As politicians attempt to negotiate...
Misinformation Mailbag
Listeners have written in with questions on all kinds of pandemic misinformation about masks, supplements, vaccines, and more. So this week, Jim and K...
How to Cancel Thanksgiving (Because You Should)
The coronavirus, in addition to being dangerous and terrifying, also makes everything socially awkward. But now is a time to make hard decisions and h...
A 90% Effective Vaccine
Jim and Katherine get sent to the principal (the lead principal investigator of the Pfizer vaccine trial).
Dr. Stephen Thomas, now a key figure...
‘A Long Misunderstood Region’
America hit 100,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time today. Unlike the wave in the spring, this one is spread across the country and especiall...
After the Vote
Could the election shape the course of the pandemic? Or is the ship too hard to turn by now? Staff writer Ed Yong joins the show to explain what a new...
People Need Help
Americans now face a third wave of the coronavirus. New lockdowns may soon follow—this time, without economic support.
Many provisions of the C...
Is COVID-19 a Pre-Existing Condition?
With worries about the Affordable Care Act looming over Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, an expert gives us a refresher on the landmark heal...
So Trump Has COVID
Well it happened. But the president’s doctor isn’t providing a complete picture of Trump’s condition. What do we know about an outbreak coverup in the...
What Does COVID Do to the Heart?
At this week’s presidential debate, Donald Trump claimed he “brought back Big Ten football.” The college conference voted to send student athletes bac...
How Bad Will Winter Get?
Katherine’s been dreading the cold months and the problems they might bring. She asks Jim what to expect and how to prepare. And Alexis Madrigal joins...
Fires Outside, Virus Inside
Katherine’s in California, where things could be better. She’s been wearing two masks—one for the coronavirus, and one for the wildfire smoke—but she...
Is Faster Better?
The path out the pandemic is a vaccine. Short of that, it could be rapid testing. And the sooner, the better ... right? Sarah Zhang and Alexis Madriga...
Herd Immunity is Not a Strategy
With news that a White House pandemic adviser reportedly pushed a “herd immunity strategy,” Katherine and Jim ask an expert about what that would mean...