Post Reports

Pandemic fatigue permeates even the cities hit hardest by the virus: In El Paso the death toll is staggering, but the community is struggling to come together to fight it. Plus, how a group advising the CDC is deciding who should get vaccines first. 
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El Paso was still grieving when the coronavirus arrived. Now, death has overwhelmed it. Arelis Hernández says the city pulled together after 23 people were killed in an attack at a Walmart last year, but El Paso is now struggling to summon solidarity as scores die of covid-19.
How do you decide who gets a vaccine first? Health reporter Lena H. Sun explains the complicated factors the committee advising the CDC is weighing — including how to save the most lives, how to stop the spread of the coronavirus and how to make people confident enough in the vaccine to take it in the first place.
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How President Trump might use the $170 million he’s raised to challenge election results. Infighting muddies the future of the Democratic Party. And, how the pandemic has complicated shared custody agreements.
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November was one of the president’s most successful fundraising months. Michelle Ye Hee Lee explains how Trump raised more than $170 million using appeals about false election claims, and where that money could go.
Democrats expected a blue wave this election cycle. It didn’t happen. Now, two factions within the party are openly battling over why. Political reporter Sean Sullivan brings us inside the feud, and the scramble over the future of the Democratic Party.
As we’ve discussed on the show, parenting during a pandemic is really difficult. Reporter Nia Decaille shares the experiences of divorced and separated couples, for whom the pandemic has complicated joint custody agreements.

The debate is not whether Israel killed Iran’s top nuclear scientist, but why. How the “Q” conspiracy theory went from an American curiosity to a transnational mess. And, the people who have covid-19 symptoms for the long haul.
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In the hours after the brazen assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the question quickly shifted from “who” to “why.” Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix explains why Israel might have been motivated to strike now. 
Reporter Emily Rauhala explains the global appeal and dangerous adaptability of QAnon’s conspiracy theories. 
Kelsey Ables is a reporter and editorial aide with The Post. She has delved into the life of covid-19 long-haulers: people who have symptoms and effects from the virus well after two weeks. She spoke with one woman, Chimére Smith, about what she’s facing.

What Joe Biden’s nominees and appointments can tell us about the incoming president’s administration. And, the former head of the CDC on what it will take to get coronavirus vaccines to the masses.
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National political reporter Annie Linskey on President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks — including economist Janet Yellen as the first female treasury secretary and an all-female communications team.
Moderna is moving closer to getting the green light for its coronavirus vaccine. But as former CDC director Tom Frieden says, “It’s not vaccines that save lives — it’s vaccination programs.”

Education reporter Laura Meckler explores the impact of distance learning on young kids’ emotional health and behavior — and what families and caretakers can do to help make a difficult situation better. 
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In March, school campuses across the United States began to shutter, forcing a nation of students home to pivot — seemingly overnight — to online learning. But left in the lurch are children, especially young children. 
After many districts decided to stay online during the fall semester, The Washington Post asked listeners and readers to send a recording of what it’s been like to continue school from home. “We heard back from a lot of kids, and what we heard was sort of a few themes over and over again,” says education reporter Laura Meckler. 
On today’s show, Meckler explores the enormous behavioral, physical and emotional toll that online learning has had so far. She speaks with 2020 teacher of the year Tabatha Rosproy and child psychiatrist Matthew Biel about what parents can do to get them, and their children, through Zoom school. 
Alexis Diao produced this episode, and reporter Hannah Natanson contributed reporting. You can read some of those submissions and view artwork by children about distance learning here.
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Juggling careers and kids was already a struggle for millions of women in America. Then the pandemic hit. Ellen McCarthy reports on why working moms are leaving the labor force in droves – and what that could mean for the future of our country.
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When they met as students in Chicago, Vondetta Taylor and Jennifer Anderson were all aspiration. Taylor was training to be a chef. Anderson was working toward a career in broadcasting. And they both dreamed of starting their own families one day.
Careers and kids didn’t seem like too much to hope for or too much to handle back then. Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, Taylor and Anderson were part of a generation of young women raised with the expectation that they could have it all, and that they should have it all.
But when the pandemic hit and their kids were sent home from school, their circumstances soured. And as Ellen McCarthy and Amy Joyce reported, the two friends became part of a legion of women who had no choice but to leave the labor force. 
“I had made a decision that I was no longer going to beat myself up about what type of interaction that I needed to have with my son, which would cause whatever type of performance for my job,” Taylor said. “I chose my son over my job.”
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Health reporter William Wan examines one of the unseen effects of the pandemic on people’s lives — the emotional and psychological toll of all that’s happened.
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Almost a year into a pandemic, we’re all aware of what the coronavirus can do to our bodies. More than 250,000 Americans have died. Millions of people around the world are sick.
But there are other, non-physical effects, too — the emotional and psychological toll of isolation, constant fear and loss, especially on young adults. That’s what Ted Robbins wants you to understand:
“What they told me was: ‘You as a parent don’t realize how bad it is for the youth today. You don’t realize how many of Christian’s friends have contemplated suicide. You don’t realize how depressed we are. You don’t realize how hard this is.’ ”
Months after the loss of his son to suicide, Robbins spoke with health reporter William Wan and producer Rennie Svirnovskiy about the conversations we’re still not having about mental health — and about the changes we’ll need to make if we’re going to get through this pandemic.
“I can’t bring Christian back,” Robbins said. “No matter how much I want to or I try, I can’t bring him back. But what I can do is try to save other children.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK, or 800-273-8255. You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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Will anyone stop the president’s attempts to overturn the election? Revisiting the iconic album documenting John Lennon’s last years. And, where tourists go for fake coronavirus test results.
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With most legal options exhausted, President Trump is now using the power of his office to overturn the election by claiming baseless allegations of voter fraud. White House bureau chief Philip Rucker reports on the president’s attempt to stay in office.
National arts reporter Geoff Edgers revisits John Lennon’s last album on the 40th anniversary of its release.
Fake coronavirus test results are hitting the black market. Shannon McMahon discusses the tourists paying top dollar for them. 
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The votes have been (mostly) counted, and though Joe Biden is clearly the president-elect, there are still more steps and potential obstacles for that to become official. Plus, why more men are dying of covid-19. Read more:
This week in Wayne County in Michigan, a drama has been unfolding over a procedural step that happens in every election: the certification of the vote. Trevor Potter of the Campaign Legal Center explains the process for Joe Biden to officially become the president -- and what could still go wrong between now and Jan. 20.
Ben Guarino is a reporter covering the practice and culture of science for The Post. He joins the show to talk about how more men are dying from the coronavirus compared with women — a global problem that’s now prevalent in the United States.
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A look at how key groups voted in this election: from Latinos in Texas and the women who went for President Trump to the Black voters who pushed President-elect Joe Biden across the finish line. 
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Democrats lost ground with swing Latino voters in key states such as Florida and Texas. In the Rio Grande Valley, national reporter Arelis Hernandez says, the surprising support for Trump underscores the need for Democrats to cultivate deeper relationships with a diverse Latino population.
White women were expected to vote overwhelmingly for Biden. That did not happen. Gender reporter Samantha Schmidt explains how party, not gender, is a stronger force in presidential politics today. 
National reporter Vanessa Williams on how Black voters saved Joe Biden’s campaign, again. 
Read The Post’s exit poll analysis here. 
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