Slate Health

It was reported this week that the U.S. Department of Energy now believes, “with low confidence,” that the COVID-19 virus came from a lab. But is there enough evidence for the “lab leak theory” to convince those who believe the virus emerged from animals in a wet market?

Guest: Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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It’s a rare bi-partisan point of agreement: the price of insulin is too high—and it’s still rising. With the stakes literally life-or-death for millions of Americans, what can be done?

Guest: Bram Sable-Smith, Midwest correspondent for Kaiser Health News.

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When John Fetterman checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression in mid-February, he was praised by both parties and public health officials for his bravery. But not long ago, being diagnosed with depression or taking time for your mental health were seen as disqualifying for those seeking public office. 

Guest: Jason Kander, President of National Expansion at Veterans Community Project, author of Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD, and co-host of Crooked Media’s podcast Majority 54.

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New understandings of how our brains develop are changing how the law considers who is mature and who isn’t. But If our brains are still developing, when can the law treat us like adults? 

Guest: Jane C. Hu, independent science journalist.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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The tech-laden, luxury bassinet “Snoo” has been presented as preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, helping babies sleep longer, and a totally reasonable way to spend $1,700. Is any of that true?

Guest: Kate Taylor, senior features correspondent for Business Insider

John Collins, Lizzie’s husband.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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A judge in north Texas is considering a lawsuit that could make access to abortion pills more difficult across the country. While anti-abortion activists can point to a string of recent successes, the existence of another, widely-used abortion medication would make medical abortions nearly impossible to ban outright. 

Guest: Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and host of Outward.

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Why does someone become a mass shooter? Researchers are interviewing perpetrators and their victims—and those who narrowly averted committing a mass shooting—and discovering a common thread of psychological despair. Can their work be applied to the prevention of future violence?

Guest: Jillian Peterson, forensic psychologist, violence researcher, and author of The Violence Project. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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On today’s episode, Rachelle speaks with writer and cultural critic Casey Johnston about weight lifting. They discuss what led Casey to pick up the barbell, how she found her way into the online weight lifting space and the following she built there, and the ways weight lifting might be able to break us out of diet culture’s torturous cycle.

This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder and Rachelle Hampton.

Subscribe to Slate Plus at http://slate.com/icymiplus

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate supervising producer Daisy Rosario is joined by stand-up comic Blaire Postman to discuss their journeys as women with ADHD, from receiving a diagnosis to the many ways it affects their everyday lives. 

In Slate Plus, how Blaire navigated living with ADHD in the pandemic-era social media boom of all things ADHD content. 

 Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Tori Dominguez with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected].

Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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This week, former Slate Money host Cathy O’Neill joins Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers to discuss the technical glitch at the New York Stock Exchange. They also talk about a new study that found the IRS disproportionately audits Black taxpayers, and about Ozempic, a shockingly effective – and expensive – weight loss drug.

In the Plus segment: a debate over Slack etiquette.

Podcast production by Anna Phillips.

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