Short Wave

A few years ago, climate scientist Kim Cobb had a brutal realization about how much she was flying for conferences and meetings. Those flights were adding lots of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Host Maddie Sofia talks with her about her push to get scientists to fly less for work, and what happened when the pandemic suddenly made that idea a reality.

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At the first coronavirus taskforce briefing in months, Vice President Mike Pence reiterated that the White House was there to support states in their response to the pandemic and touted the administration's response so far despite the country's high death toll. And Attorney General William Barr talks to NPR about the pile of controversies facing the Department of Justice.

This episode: White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

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Approximately 200 COVID-19 vaccines are being actively developed, a process that health officials are expediting to help end the pandemic. Today on the show, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca walks us through the latest in vaccine development — from how a coronavirus vaccine would work to the challenges of distributing it to the world.

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A day after Democrats blocked a Republican proposal in the Senate, they are set to pass a reform plan of their own in the House. Lawmakers appear pessimistic about the chances of compromise legislation.

This episode: White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell.

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Racial discrimination shaped the map of Minneapolis. Then city zoning locked many of those patterns into place. Maddie talks with NPR climate reporter Lauren Sommer about Minneapolis' bold plan to tackle housing disparities — and climate change. The new rules went into effect earlier this year. Community groups are calling on the city to follow through.

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The United States isn't experiencing a second wave of the coronavirus—because the first wave never ended. While original hotspots of the outbreak, like New York and New Jersey, have seen declines, population centers in the south, including Texas, are seeing record numbers of cases. White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci testified about the pandemic yesterday on Capitol Hill.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, science correspondent Richard Harris, and KUT reporter Asley Lopez.

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Scientists have known for decades that one of the main causes of the smell of fresh rain is geosmin: a chemical compound produced by soil-dwelling bacteria. But why do the bacteria make it in the first place? It was a bacteria-based mystery... until now! Maddie gets some answers from reporter Emily Vaughn, former Short Wave intern.

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Closely-watched congressional primaries in New York and Kentucky will test how well progressives fare in two very different parts of the country.

And reporting from a Michigan suburb on how folks there view the racial justice protests and the president's response to the pandemic.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional correspondent Susan Davis, Kentucky Public Radio reporter Ryland Barton, and campaign correspondent Asma Khalid.

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Earlier this month, IBM said it was getting out of the facial recognition business. Then Amazon and Microsoft announced prohibitions on law enforcement using their facial recognition tech. There's growing evidence these algorithmic systems are riddled with gender and racial bias. Today on the show, Short Wave speaks with AI policy researcher Mutale Nkonde about algorithmic bias — how facial recognition software can discriminate and reflect the biases of society.

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President Trump has removed a top Justice Department official, Geoffrey Berman, whose office has overseen the prosecutions of several of the president's associates.

And the president's Saturday rally was a return to form for Trump, but fell short of expectations set by his campaign.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, justice correspondent Ryan Lucas, White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

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