Reopening America

The surging prices of used cars are turning them into profitable investments for those willing to part with them. Used car prices have surged 41% since last year and some are finding that they can make money on what was once a rapidly depreciating asset. Claire Ballentine, personal finance reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for used car flipping and what to watch out for… taxes!

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More than a third of the CDC’s wastewater samples across the U.S. are showing rising Covid trends the first two weeks of March. Sewer samples can often spot increasing virus levels before official tests results. It’s unclear if this points to an upcoming wave, but we currently have 98% of the U.S. population that is in places with a low community level rating. Drew Armstrong, senior editor for healthcare at Bloomberg News, joins us for what the wastewater is signaling.

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The workplace has gone through drastic changes as a result of the pandemic and even attitudes about work have changed. With more job openings than people looking for work, employees feel like they have all the power, but how long can that last? There is also a movement for better pay transparency, but would you disclose how much you make to others? Tess Vigeland, host of the new WSJ podcast “As We Work” joins us to talk about the changing dynamics of the workplace.

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The CDC wants to monitor everyone’s poop, but states are not all on board. During the pandemic, state and local health officials were able to detect Covid in their communities before residents developed symptoms and the CDC wants to expand those programs to stay ahead of variants and other viruses too. States would need a widespread buy-in for this to be successful, but may logistical challenges remain. Katherine Foley, healthcare reporter at Politico, joins us for the plan to monitor the nation’s sewage.

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The office romance might have made a comeback, and it happened all over Zoom. Two years of isolation led to many making more connections over video chats and Slack with co-workers. Even for front-line workers, smaller social circles meant spending more time with and falling for your fellow employee. Callum Borchers, On the Clock columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how workplace loved bloomed despite being at home.

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President Biden’s ‘test to treat’ program started rolling out this week to praise and also many questions. People will be able will be able to walk into participating pharmacies or clinics and if they test positive for Covid, they will be given a free course of Pfizer or Merck’s antiviral pills. Questions are still floating around about supply of pills, rapid tests, and concerns over drug to drug interactions. Katie Shepherd, health and science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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More Americans are reporting that they are starting to feel the health worker shortage. Demand in health services is going back up as people are getting into their regular checkup routines, but they are finding it difficult navigating canceled appointments or delayed surgeries. More than one in five people said they skipped annual checkups and getting back hasn’t been so smooth. Tina Reed, healthcare editor at Axios, joins us for how the health worker shortage continues to affect us.

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The Great Resignation saw many people choose to leave their toxic jobs for better ones or leave for jobs that offered a better work-life balance. But not everyone left and some just opted to take it a little easier and work less. Employers struggling to retain workers are just having to deal with it. The Hustle culture is over and the challenge for employers is to figure out how to navigate changing workplace attitudes. The new hybrid work life might be one that accommodates both types of employees. Aki Ito, senior correspondent at Business Insider, joins us for the new coasting culture at work.

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A new study looking at brain scans of people before and after contracting Covid shows that they had more loss of gray matter and tissue damage than those who did not get infected. Notably, the study looked at those that were older and had more mild infections, meaning they did not have to go to the hospital. The shrinkage and damage was primarily in areas associated with smell. Pam Belluck, health and science writer at the NY Times, joins us for more.

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For months many parents have been waiting for Covid vaccines for their children under 5. Instead there has been growing confusion and frustration at shifting timelines, delays, and poor communication from the FDA. Also in question is whether the vaccine for very young children will be a two or three dose protocol. Pfizer and Moderna say more data for this age group will be coming very soon and that authorization could hopefully come by April or May. Caroline Chen, healthcare reporter at ProPublica, joins for what's holding up the vaccine for kids under 5.

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