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Every year, Americans buy tens of millions of Christmas trees. But decorative evergreens don’t just magically show up on corner lots, waiting to find a home in your living room. There are a bunch of fascinating steps that determine exactly how many Christmas trees get sold, and how expensive they are.

On this episode of Planet Money, NPR’s Nick Fountain and Robert Smith visit the world’s largest auction of Christmas trees — and then see how much green New Yorkers are willing to throw down for some greenery.

Listen to more episodes of Planet Money on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Prisons and jails are hotbeds for COVID-19. Public health experts say they should be given early access to a coronavirus vaccine. But only six states have prioritized vaccination for people who are incarcerated.

Sharon Dolovich, director of UCLA’s Prison Law & Policy Program, tells NPR why the debate over vaccinating inmates is a particularly American one.

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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An emerging coronavirus relief package may not do enough to help restaurants hobbled by the pandemic, many of which have struggled to make ends meet all year — with 100,000 restaurants closed on a permanent or long-term basis, according to a survey from the National Restaurant Association.

Andrew Genung, the writer behind the restaurant industry newsletter Family Meal, explains why so many restaurants did not get enough help in the first round of relief passed by Congress early in the pandemic.

Nya Marshall, owner of Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit, describes the adjustments necessary to run her restaurant this year.

And at least one restaurant-adjacent business is doing well: Auction Factory, which repairs and sells liquidated restaurant equipment. Cleveland-based owner Russell Cross tells NPR his warehouse is full of equipment from shuttered restaurants.

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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In an Oregon hospital, a disabled woman fought for her life as her friends and advocates pleaded for proper care. Her case raises the question: Are disabled lives equally valued during a pandemic?

NPR investigations correspondent Joseph Shapiro reports on what happened to Sarah McSweeney.

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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Electors in every state officially sealed Joe Biden’s presidential victory this week, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., congratulated the president-elect on Tuesday.

Biden is now 36 days away from inauguration, waiting to face a public health and economic crisis that is growing by the day.

NPR political correspondent Asma Khalid reports on the economic experts close to Biden’s team who are advising the next president on how he can offer economic relief to Americans without Congress.

And Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tells NPR why he’s urging Democrats to reject an emerging pandemic relief package if it does not include direct cash payments to individual Americans. Sanders spoke to NPR’s Ailsa Chang.

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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The U.S. officially began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Monday, starting with Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse in New York City. The first vaccination came the same day that the country hit another grim milestone of 300,000 dead from the disease.

Though vaccinations have begun, the pandemic is still raging and affecting people in all kinds of ways, including their relationships with partners, family and friends.

We asked you to share your questions with us on how to navigate those changing relationships. To help answer those questions, we’re joined by Dr. Lexx Brown-James, a marriage and family therapist and sexologist based in St. Louis, and NPR’s Cory Turner, who covers parenting and education.

To hear more about how parents can help their kids feel less anxious right now, check out this episode of NPR’s Life Kit podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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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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.

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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.

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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.

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