As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, it’s widely accepted that without a vaccine, life cannot go back to normal. But as it turns out, not everyone is on board. Over the last several years, an anti-vaccine movement has gained steam in the United States, with more and more people deciding to skip vaccines for themselves and their children. In this archive episode, Dr. Matthew Woodruff dives into the science and history behind vaccines and how we can better educate people on their value.

This episode originally aired on August 8, 2017.

For More on This Topic:

• Read Woodruff’s brief, Why "Personal Belief" Vaccine Exemptions Place Many Vulnerable Americans at Risk
• Check out his former podcast, Audiommunity

The scene is so common it’s almost cliche: two beautiful young people meet at a rowdy college party and drunkenly fall into bed together. American pop culture is fascinated by college hookups, but is casual sex really as widespread as it seems? Professor Lisa Wade breaks down who participates in hookup culture, what they get out of it, and as more students speak up about the problem of on-campus sexual assault, what role universities have to play in shaping their sexual cultures.

For more on this topic

• Check out her book, American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campus
• Read her opinion pieces in The Guardian, Time, and The Conversation

In any sense of the word, the COVID-19 crisis can be considered a disaster. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, millions have lost their jobs, and nearly everyone is experiencing a sense of shock at how quickly our world was turned upside down. But of course, the current crisis is also dramatically different from previous disasters, like hurricanes or wildfires. Professor Susan Sterett dives into how COVID-19 follows the same patterns of previous disasters and how it diverges, what we can learn from previous disasters to inform our current efforts, and how we can prepare for a future where the coronavirus will inevitably collide with other disasters.

For more on this topic:

• Read Sterett’s paper, “Disaster assistance and legal accountability: care and surveillance”
• Check out the book she edited, Disaster and Sociolegal Studies

Every Thursday since America started locking down to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, a tragic new number is released: the latest unemployment claims. Tens of millions of Americans have already filed for unemployment, and that number is likely to keep going up. Professor Anna Gassman-Pines lays out who is most affected by the dramatic economic downturn we’re seeing, what job losses mean for children, families, and entire communities, and how policymakers can help buffer against some of the worst effects of this economic crisis.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Gassman-Pines’ memo with Professor Elizabeth Ananat for Econofact, Snapshot of the COVID Crisis Impact on Working Families
• Read her previous opinion piece for NJ.com, Long-term unemployment assistance helps families, communities

With the COVID-19 crisis spreading rapidly across the US, much attention has been paid to the hospitals on the front lines of this pandemic. But there is another set of healthcare providers that also has a crucial role to play in managing this outbreak: community health centers. Professor Peter Shin unpacks what exactly community health centers are, why they were established and who they serve, what role they have to play in the COVID-19 pandemic, and how policymakers can ensure their survival during this unprecedented time.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Shin’s SSN policy memo, Invest in Community Health Centers
• Read his analysis of the current situation for the Milken Institute School of Public Health

We’re in April, as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. Today, the U.S. has more reported cases than any other nation on earth - a fact that may in part be due to testing levels, but could also be due to a series of massive public policy mistakes. In the U.S., the federal response has been chaotic, to say the least. And here’s one reason: President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi don’t talk to each other. The intense anger and distrust between Republicans and Democrats could literally be costing our nation lives. Lee Drutman explains how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it. 

For more on this topic:

• Check out Drutman’s book, Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America
• Read his opinion pieces in The Atlantic, Vox, and The New York Times

As policymakers on Capitol Hill work to expand America’s safety net in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it might not be enough. So where can we look for guidance on what more needs to be done? Perhaps another deadly virus, HIV, where a separate and robust safety net has been established to support those who have been diagnosed. Professor Celeste Watkins-Hayes explains what the HIV/AIDS safety net looks like, what we can learn from this previous effort to combat a deadly virus, and how the inequalities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are playing out with coronavirus.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Watkins-Hayes’ book, Remaking a Life: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Confront Inequality
• Read her SSN brief, How Neighborhoods Can Help Poor Black Women Fight AIDS

With governments rushing to put in place policies and guidelines to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, it’s important to look to the past to inform the present. And we don’t have to look far. Just 5 years ago, the world was concerned with a completely different outbreak: ebola. Professor Lily Tsai and Dr. Ben Morse examine how governments at the epicenter of the ebola outbreak responded to the spread of the disease, what the role of trust is in ensuring that people comply with government recommendations, and how leaders can build trust and buy-in both during and before a crisis.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Tsai and Morse’s SSN brief, Why Citizen Trust in Government Matters — Especially when Crises Strike
• Read a ScienceDaily article about their research

Around the United States, schools are shutting down due to coronavirus. For some Americans, this means setting up a home office and learning to work with children underfoot. But others are facing a far more serious crisis: with school cafeterias closed indefinitely and employment increasingly precarious, how will they manage to put food on the table? Professor Daphne Hernandez lays out the problem of food insecurity in America, how coronavirus is affecting the situation, and what policymakers can do to help families in need -- now and in the future.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Hernandez’s OpEd on what coronavirus means for food insecurity in The Hill
• Listen to our previous episodes on food insecurity and hunger among college students

Money. Power. Knowledge. Health. Education. When you look around the world, when it comes to resources and opportunities, there are massive imbalances between countries and even inside countries. In the name of making the world a better place, people and institutions with great wealth often donate some of their money around the world through philanthropy. Rakesh Rajani shares stories and lessons learned from years of work in global philanthropy and outlines what changes are needed to make this work more effective and meaningful.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Co-Impact and The Ford Foundation
• Read Rakesh’s interview with CNN on his work in Tanzania