Author: Matt

More people are hospitalized with COVID than at any point in the pandemic. But the omicron variant is also causing more Americans to tune out the pandemic and turn away from public health measures right when they’re needed most. NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports.

Even some vaccinated and boosted Americans are ready to move on from COVID, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic — a group he’s dubbed ‘vaxxed and done.’ Thompson spoke to Jane Clayson on Here & Now, a production of NPR and WBUR Boston.

Additional reporting in this episode from NPR’s Michaeleen Doucleff, who reported on why the omicron variant appears to be less deadly; and from NPR’s Will Stone, who reported on hospitals struggling to manage the omicron surge.

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.

Americans’ trust in both their government and in each other is declining. That’s according to the Pew Research Center, who have been collecting this data for decades.

Researchers Bradley Jones and Katerina Eva Matsa discuss how and why Americans are losing trust in two critical institutions: elections and news media.

Then, Eric Liu, the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and Tony Marcano, managing editor of member station KPCC and the LAist, share the steps they are taking to help citizens engage in civic life and re-establish trust in our country’s election systems and news media.

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

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. is planning “things that we have not done in the past” if Russia invades Ukraine. His comments follow days of diplomatic talks and a deadlock on resolving the crisis brewing along the Ukraine-Russia border, where Russia has massed 100,000 troops with tanks and artillery.

Blinken speaks to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly about the current tensions and this week’s diplomatic efforts.

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 men on death row in Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a maximum security prison in southeastern Texas, spend most of their time in solitary confinement, isolated from each other. Now, a prison radio station is giving them a sense of community and a way to be heard.

Keri Blakinger talks about how it started and the impact it’s had. Read her piece “The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That’s Reaching Men on Death Row” at The Marshall Project.

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.

Many public spaces across the country now require negative COVID-19 tests for entry. But the cost of testing can vary widely, and some say they have had to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase tests.

Adam Tanner explains some of the reasons for the drastic difference in at-home test prices. Read his piece ‘How Much Should It Cost to Get Tested for COVID-19’ on Consumer Reports.

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.

As Democrats are making a push for voting rights legislation in Congress, more faith leaders want Americans to approach it as a moral – even spiritual – issue, including pastor and Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

Warnock explains why he thinks ending the legislative filibuster in the Senate may be a necessary step, a move that President Joe Biden also endorsed while speaking in Warnock’s home state on Tuesday.

And Warnock describes his spiritual motivation for this voting rights push. He says democracy is the “political enactment of a spiritual idea.”

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.

A surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant has meant many school districts across the country have considered or committed to returning to remote learning for the time being.

WBEZ reporter Sarah Karp spoke with parents in Chicago where a standoff between the teachers union and mayor has resulted in no teaching happening in person or virtually for the last few days.

And we hear from three mothers who share how they’ve been coping with the stress and unpredictability of a very confusing return to school.

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.

Before they built one of the biggest athlete-driven business empires in the world, LeBron James and Maverick Carter were just two kids from Akron, Ohio.

On this episode of NPR’s newest podcast, The Limits With Jay Williams, Carter explains how he and James succeeded — on their own terms. Carter is CEO of the SpringHill Company.

Listen to more of The Limits via Apple, Google, or Spotify.

If you’re confused about the new CDC Coronavirus guidelines, you’re not alone.

In fact, this week, the American Medical Association released a statement saying, “The new recommendations on quarantine and isolation are not only confusing, but are risking further spread of the virus.”

Adherence to public health guidelines is built on trust, and over the last few weeks, trust in the CDC seems to be eroding.

Jessica Malaty Rivera, a Senior Advisor at the Pandemic Prevention Institute and a science communicator, explains how we got to this point…and what steps need to be taken to ensure public trust in the CDC.

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.

A new owner can change everything for a professional sports team. And in the world of professional soccer, more and more of those new owners are countries accused of human rights abuses.

Former Manchester City player Nedum Onuoha describes what it was like when a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family took charge of his club.

Plus, New York Times reporter Tariq Panja explains why complaints about where money is coming from does little to change this growing trend, as evidenced by the recent purchase of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led investment group.

And in case you missed it on our All Things Considered radio broadcast, co-host of the show and of this podcast Audie Cornish is considering a new adventure and leaving NPR. You can hear the show’s tribute to Audie 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.