Today on Boston Public Radio:

Art Caplan shares his thoughts on the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine, explaining how the approval impacts arguments against vaccine mandates. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

Then, we talk with listeners about starting the school year with mask mandates.

Juliette Kayyem talks about Congressman Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) unauthorized trip to Afghanistan, and devastating flooding in Tennessee. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jonathon Gruber gives an economist’s perspective on the ethics of wealthier countries moving on to COVID-19 booster shots while underdeveloped nations struggle with vaccine supplies. Gruber is Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream.

Ali Noorani talks about the evacuation from Afghanistan, and what it means for Afghan allies and refugees trying to leave the country. Noorani is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. His forthcoming book is Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants. 

David Daley discusses Republican efforts to gain power through redistricting following the release of the 2020 U.S. census data. Daley is the author of two books on gerrymandering, Rat-bleeped: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count and Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. He’s a senior fellow at FairVote and the former Editor-in-Chief of Salon.com.

We end the show by asking listeners how they would say goodbye to Boston if they moved away, following Maya Jonas-Silver's plan to break the world record for the fastest visit to all 25 MBTA stations.