Reopening America

The holiday shopping season is in full swing and a lot has changed since the pandemic began. The biggest shift is that businesses are expecting to see more customers in-person, so expect big crowds. E-commerce is expected to slow, but only slightly as it should top the $200 billion mark for the first time. Customers will have more buy now, pay later options and get ready for live-streaming shopping events. Melissa Repko, retail reporter at CNBC, joins us for what to expect this season.

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Supply chain issues have plagued various industries as we continue on our way back from the pandemic. Now it is coming for America’s supply of pies! Compounding the issue is climate and bad weather effects on pretty much every ingredient in our favorite pies. Case in point is Tampa-based Mike’s Pies who is struggling to fulfill orders and maintain stock of ingredients, starting with their graham cracker crumb vendor. Laura Riley, business of food reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how even after supply chain issues get resolved, climate change still poses a problem.

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President Biden is tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to release 50 million barrel of oil in hopes that it will bring down the price of gas. This is an effort done in coordination with 6 other countries to bring down prices which is a big contributor to inflation. The only snag is that it still may take some time before we see the effects or if it works at all. Tim Puko, energy policy reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know.

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Booster shots have been approved for anyone over 18 that has already been fully vaccinated. Protection from getting infected starts to wane after about 6 months especially for those that are older or immunocompromised. But what should you do if you are healthy and not at risk? Does getting a booster shot take away someone’s opportunity to get their first shot? Kelsey Piper, staff writer at Vox, joins us for what to know about boosters.

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Pfizer recently struck a licensing deal with the Medical Patents Pool which in turn can strike deals with other manufacturers to make generic versions of its Covid antiviral pill for poorer countries. But when it comes to its mRNA vaccine, Pfizer has not been so willing to share the recipe. They stand to make $36 billion in revenue this year and have said that they will increase their shipments to poor countries at adjusted prices. Stephanie Baker, senior writer at Bloomberg News, joins us for the fight over profits and the lopsided global supply of vaccines.

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Covid disruptions to classrooms continue to happen across the country, but many schools are turning to testing over quarantine to keep kids in class. Test-to-stay programs are screening students regularly after exposure to known cases rather than sending them straight home. This allows them to remain in class while they continue to test negative. Sabrina Siddiqui, White House reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how schools are finding ways to keep kids in the classroom.

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Millions of American are expected to travel for Thanksgiving and if you are heading out, you should expect delays. One of the biggest mysteries is how many TSA agents will be in compliance with vaccine mandates for federal workers set for Nov. 22nd. The government doesn’t think there will be any delays, but long wait times are inevitable as TSA employees are leaving for other reasons too. Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, staff writer at Forbes, joins us for how holiday travel could be a mess.

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Where have all the public bathrooms gone? Going through the pandemic and seeing the closures of bars, restaurants and other public spaces, it laid bare how very few places there are for a person to relieve themselves. It was a trend that was definitely happening before the pandemic with many places being closed or just neglected which also gave public restrooms bad reputations. According to a “Public Toilet Index,” the U.S. only has eight toilets per 100,000 people overall. Elizabeth Yuko, contributor to Bloomberg CityLab, joins us for what to know about the lack of public bathrooms.

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Prices were up 6.2% last month which is the largest rise in 30 years. Inflation is making everything more expensive and the era of cheap everything is over. Supply chain issues continue to be the main culprit for most of our post-pandemic woes, but inflation could wipe away wage gains and savings that many Americans are now having to spend. Kevin Dugan, reporter at NY Magazine, joins us for how everything is more expensive.

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We have been learning a lot about mRNA because of the Covid vaccines, but the next big thing for RNA could be fixing moldy food. The next generation of pesticides and fungicides could use RNA to target very specific insects and fungi. One particular type of fungus they hope to target is responsible for at least $10 billion in damage to crops every year. Matt Reynolds, senior writer at Wired, joins us for how RNA may be used next to help farmers.

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