Month: January 2021

The Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorizations for two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 – one produced by Eli Lilly and another by Regeneron. But emergency use authorization doesn’t assure the drugs are effective.

In this episode of Short Wave, NPR’s daily science podcast, science correspondent Richard Harris explains how the new treatments work — and whether they could really make a difference for patients with COVID-19.

Listen to more episodes of Short Wave on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

President Trump once told veteran CBS journalist Lesley Stahl why he attacks the press.

“I do it to discredit you all and demean you all,” he admitted to her in 2017, “so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.”

Trump made attacks on the press a central fixture of his campaign for president, and of his four years in the White House. As his term comes to a close, three members of the White House Press Corps reflect on what it’s been like to cover the 45th president since the beginning.

NPR’s Tamara Keith, Jeff Mason of Reuters, and Yamiche Alcindor of the PBS NewsHour spoke to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

In his first round of interviews since President-elect Joe Biden announced John Kerry would be his special envoy for climate, the former Secretary of State tells NPR why restoring American credibility on climate issues will be a key challenge for the Biden administration. Kerry spoke to NPR’s Steve Inskeep.

NPR’s Nathan Rott reports on another climate ambition for the incoming administration: conserving 30% of America’s land and water by 2030.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

The Food and Drug Administration could vote as soon as Thursday to approve a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer for emergency use authorization in the United States.

Speaking to NPR this week, FDA head Dr. Stephen Hahn reiterated the government’s commitment to vaccine safety. But public opinion polls suggest many Americans are still skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines, and misinformation about them has been spreading online.

Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory tells NPR why misinformation often takes hold where people are not necessarily looking for it.

NPR’s Adrian Florido reports public health experts are worried that Latinos and African Americans — communities that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — may be less likely to get vaccinated.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

2020 has been a year of resilience in the face of tragedy. But for much longer, resilience in the face of tragedy has been a defining story of the Middle East.

In her final conversation for NPR, international correspondent Jane Arraf reflects on what it’s been like to watch that story unfold.

Arraf is departing NPR to take on the role as Baghdad bureau chief for The New York Times. Follow her on Twitter here.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Health care facilities in rural areas hard-hit by the coronavirus are running out of ways to provide safe care to patients. Unlike earlier in the pandemic, it’s more difficult to find hospitals with capacity to spare.

A travel nurse shares an audio diary recorded for NPR in Fargo, N.D., and two health care workers from North Dakota and Utah describe the unique challenges they’re facing.

WPLN’s Blake Farmer and NPR’s Carrie Feibel have reported on the staffing challenges hospitals are facing.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

“What has this pandemic been like for you?”

NPR host Sam Sanders and his team at It’s Been A Minute put that question to their listeners and heard from people all over the world with ages ranging from 0 to 99.

Their stories will stay with you.

Listen to more episodes of It’s Been A Minute on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Every 10 years after the U.S. Census, lawmakers in most states have the power to redraw congressional and state legislative districts. It’s called redistricting. The party in power can do it in a way that benefits them politically — and it’s perfectly legal. That’s called gerrymandering.

Now that the 2020 election season is nearly over, a picture is emerging of how redistricting and gerrymandering will unfold in states across the country.

NPR’s Ari Shapiro spoke to reporters in three state capitals: Ashley Lopez with member station KUT in Austin, Texas; Dirk VanderHart from Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland; and Steve Harrison of member station WFAE in Charlotte, N.C.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

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President Trump and his allies have spent nearly a month promoting an alternate reality of rigged elections and stolen votes.

Now, there’s concern in Georgia that some of the president’s supporters may sit out a crucial runoff election on January 5, which will determine the balance of power in the Senate, as Lisa Hagen with NPR member station WABE reported.

Turnout isn’t the only concern for some Republicans in the state. Election officials like Gabriel Sterling have been the target of death threats. Sterling spoke to NPR’s Ari Shapiro.

Trump’s conspiratorial denials of his own defeat have been bolstered by allies from some relatively new media sources — including the right-wing network Newsmax. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reported on the network and its efforts to outfox Fox News.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week that it’s likely that any healthy American who wants a coronavirus vaccine will be able to walk into a drugstore and get one by April. The challenge will be convincing enough people not to put it off.

While the vaccine is months away for most, health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities will be able to receive the first doses when they become available, a committee from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this week. NPR’s Pien Huang has reported on that decision and others by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices.

NPR’s Andrea Hsu reports on the debate over mandatory vaccines in the workplace.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.