Short Wave

In the United States, Black infants die at over twice the rate of White infants. New research explores one key factor that may contribute to the disproportionately high rates of death among Black newborns: the race of their doctor. Reproductive health equity researcher Rachel Hardeman explains the findings.

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The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Congress that a widely-available vaccine probably won't be available until well into 2021. But he did say that masks are perhaps even more useful in preventing the spread. That will prove especially true if people are reluctant to take the vaccine.

This episode: White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and science correspondent Joe Palca.

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Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic, writes that the U.S. is caught in a "pandemic spiral." He argues some of our intuitions have been misleading our response, rather than guiding us out of disaster. For instance, flitting from from one prominent solution to another, without fully implementing any of them. To counter these unhelpful instincts, he offers some solutions.

Read Ed's piece: "America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral".

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Joe Biden maintains a lead in key states Trump won in 2016, but the race remains tight in Florida. Arizona and Georgia are toss-ups, and Texas is pink. And, the race is remarkably stable. Our reporting from across the country finds that a vanishingly small share of voters are persuadable. That makes the election primarily a turnout contest.

This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, congressional editor Deirdre Walsh, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

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In case you missed our announcement Monday, Short Wave is temporarily shifting production schedules. We're dropping episodes into your feed four times a week instead of five. That means we'll be taking a break every Wednesday through the end of the year.

But, fear not! We've got a giant back catalog for you to browse in the meantime. Like this episode from last year about three factors at the heart of why California is at such high risk for wildfires. Or this one about Giant Panda conservation and zoos.

We'll see you tomorrow with a new episode!

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Understanding the motivation of voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania is key to understand the 2016 coalition that allowed President Trump to notch a decisive electoral college victory. Is Joe Biden doing enough to draw that support back to the Democratic column?

This episode: political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, national political correspondent Don Gonyea, national political correspondent Mara Liasson, and political reporter Abigail Censkey of WKAR in Michigan.

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Flushing toilets can consume a lot of water. So Tak-Sing Wong, a biomedical engineer at Penn State University, is trying to minimize how much is needed. Wong developed a slippery coating for the inside of a toilet bowl. In this encore episode, he tells us it can potentially move human waste more efficiently, leaving a cleaner bowl with less water.

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After the weekend's rally, aimed at building support among Hispanic voters, President Trump spent Monday in California hearing about disaster response there. Kamala Harris is set to visit her home state tomorrow.

And Democrats have made the decision to abandon door-knocking to engage with voters. The Trump campaign alleges it's knocking on a million doors a week. So who has the best strategy?

This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and campaign correspondent Asma Khalid.

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In her new book, x+y, mathematician Eugenia Cheng uses her specialty, category theory, to challenge how we think about gender and the traits associated with it. Instead, she calls for a new dimension of thinking, characterizing behavior in a way completely removed from considerations of gender.

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As wildfires rage across the west, activists are noting the campaign's relative silence on the issue of climate change. Natural disasters of all sorts, from heat waves to hurricanes, are made worse as humans continue to increase their emissions.

And the Treasury Department and Microsoft have disclosed new election interference efforts by foreign powers, including Russia. The disclosures come the same week a whistleblower alleged Trump administration officials pushed intelligence staff to downplay findings that could make the president look bad. The administration denies the claims.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, science correspondent Lauren Sommer, and voting reporter Miles Parks.

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