The Brazil variant raises a scary question — and reminds us that herd immunity needs to cross borders.

Also: Katherine shares the first episode of The Experiment, a new show from The Atlantic and WNYC Studios. 

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Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Pocket Casts

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People are getting vaccinated, but it’s not happening quickly enough. Case counts are dropping fast, but a near-record number of people are still sick. Do we have reason for optimism? Or could optimism still get us in trouble?

Alexis Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, staff writers and co-founders of the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, join Jim and Maeve this week.

Where is Katherine? She’s still working on The Experiment, which launches next week! Hosted by WNYC’s Julia Longoria, the new podcast will examine the myths and ideas at the heart of the American experiment and the way powerful forces of history collide with our everyday lives. The trailer’s beautiful. Check it out here. And the first episode drops February 4th.

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Dr. Ruth Faden, an expert in biomedical ethics with Johns Hopkins University, has helped vaccine drives answer some tough questions: Who should be ahead of who? Do we prioritize speed or equity? And once people are inoculated, should they get ‘vaccine passports’ allowing freer movement?

She joins James Hamblin and guest host Maeve Higgins to assess how we’ve done — and what we could expect next.

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Last month, we learned about the “UK variant.” Now, more mutations from South Africa and Brazil have made headlines. How bad are they? And should you change anything you’re doing already?

Dr. Vineet Menachery, a virologist at the Galveston National Laboratory who studies coronaviruses, joins to explain.

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We were supposed to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year. We’ve fallen well short of that. Should we be worried?

Jim and Katherine are joined by Juliette Kayyem, a former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security who ran intergovernmental efforts like the one behind the vaccine rollout. She explains what’s going on, what the problems have been, and why we shouldn’t be too concerned (yet).

They’re also joined by a listener named Craig seeking advice on a tough situation: when can you travel to see an ill family member?

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We're very relieved, but now entering the strange time of vaccine purgatory.

Staff writer Sarah Zhang joins Jim and Katherine to answer your questions.

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The pandemic has brought unprecedented economic suffering and yet, Congress hasn’t passed new relief since March. As politicians attempt to negotiate a package before the holidays, Americans are going hungry. How could we have let it go on so long? What about our politics let it get so bad?

Jim and Katherine talk with Atlantic staff writer David A. Graham and Luis Guardia, president of the Food Research and Action Center.

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Listeners have written in with questions on all kinds of pandemic misinformation about masks, supplements, vaccines, and more. So this week, Jim and Katherine talk about conspiracy theories, false remedies, and how to talk to the people that believe in them.

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The coronavirus, in addition to being dangerous and terrifying, also makes everything socially awkward. But now is a time to make hard decisions and have hard conversations. Jim and Katherine answer listener questions about the holidays, and explain how to say no.

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Jim and Katherine get sent to the principal (the lead principal investigator of the Pfizer vaccine trial).

Dr. Stephen Thomas, now a key figure evaluating the Pfizer vaccine, returns to explain promising preliminary data that shows it to be 90% effective.

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