On The Review, The Atlantic's writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves and how that shapes the way we understand the world. Please subscribe and enjoy!

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Hello Social Distance listeners! We'd like to introduce you to a new show.

In this series, host Arthur Brooks digs into research and offers tools to help you live more joyfully. Join us for deep conversations with psychologists, experts, and friends of The Atlantic's Chief Happiness Correspondent. For more info, visit www.theatlantic.com/happy, or search for How to Build a Happy Life on your podcast app.

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Though the pandemic continues around the world, the end appears in sight in the United States. At the same time, this episode will mark the last one for Social Distance.

Jim, Maeve, and returning host Katherine Wells gather to say goodbye to the show, listen to voicemails from past expert guests, and reflect on what we’ve learned these last fifteen months.

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While case counts in the U.S. continue to drop, there are still headlines about variants and "breakthrough" infections that might worry you. Fortunately, The Atlantic staff writer Katherine Wu explains to James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins why these shouldn't alarm us just yet. And staff writer Sarah Zhang drops in to help figure out how to keep pandemic puppies from being too anxious as people return to pre-pandemic routines.

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Now that Jim's "Quite Possibly Wonderful Summer" is coming to fruition, a lot of listeners have been considering the present and future. Can you go to a tango festival? What should parents be watching for? And why, exactly, is the Surgeon General wearing that uniform? Hit play for answers and a short history lesson from historian and listener Ruth Fairbanks.

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We've all been suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another, and as the U.S. starts to emerge, we'll need to reckon with that. The Atlantic's Ed Yong discusses his piece on pandemic trauma, how to think about it, and what he's learned in talking to psychiatrists and other experts.

We want to hear from you! Email your questions or concerns to socialdistance@theatlantic.com or leave a voicemail at 202-642-6487.

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When the Biden administration announced support for waiving COVID vaccine patents last week, it was met with praise, relief, skepticism, and alarm among different groups—but surprise all around. Pharmaceutical giants have long fought efforts to have their intellectual property released to meet international needs. And they’ve backed it up with immense political muscle. Could this time be different? Would it disincentivize future research, as critics like Bill Gates claim? And how much (and how quickly) could it help?

To understand the issue, Jim and Maeve are joined by Julie Rovner, the Chief Washington Correspondent for Kaiser Health News and host of the podcast “What The Health?”

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Writer F.T. Kola returns to recount her experience with long COVID. What explains its strange constellation of symptoms? Will it ever go away? And why does vaccination seem to help?

F.T., Jim, and Maeve are joined by Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist investigating long COVID at her Yale lab. She explains what we know about the condition — and how two theories about its root cause mean the difference between a cure and no clear end in sight.

Jim's piece on herd immunity: How Herd Immunity Happens

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While wealthier countries reopen, India and the rest of the world face a terrifying new peak in the pandemic. How did it come to this? What can be done? And with new variants and limited supplies, how does the global vaccine strategy need to change to prevent more coronavirus spikes?

Staff writer Yasmeen Serhan joins Jim and Maeve to explain.

Jim’s piece:  One Vaccine to Rule Them All

Yasmeen’s piece: India's COVID-19 Crisis Is the World's Crisis

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The pandemic has led to “hygiene theater,” which gives a false sense of security. As vaccination continues, people should feel able to abandon many precautions—while continuing to focus on what really matters. How do we thread the needle between being too cautious and too cavalier? Staff writer Derek Thompson joins to help us understand public messaging. 

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Should the ‘pause’ in Johnson & Johnson vaccine worry us? Also, Jim got his first shot! But with so many people experiencing strong reactions to their second doses, what should he — and maybe you — expect? 

Atlantic staff writer Katherine Wu joins to explain (and stays to talk cicadas!)

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Children may have been largely spared the worst of COVID-19, but many kids have still gotten seriously ill and died. Despite biontech-vaccine-adolescents.html">promising news this week, most likely won’t have access to the vaccines for months. So as adults get vaccinated, how high are the stakes for kids? And how high are the stakes for everyone waiting on herd immunity?

Jim and Maeve ask Dr. Jill Foster, a professor and pediatric-infectious-disease specialist at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Also, with a pediatrician on the show, they take the opportunity to ask a few listener questions from parents.

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Vaccine passports are almost certainly in our near future. But what are they exactly? And with concerns about vaccine equity now complicated by partisan fearmongering, how should they be implemented?

Art Caplan, a bioethicist with NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine who’s spent years thinking about vaccine ethics, joins Jim and Maeve to explain.

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The recent shootings in Atlanta highlighted a surge of anti-Asian violence in the United States throughout the pandemic. Disease stigma and racism have together shaped pandemic response and policy for centuries.

And so to better understand this history, Jim and Maeve speak with Alexandre White, a sociologist and medical historian at Johns Hopkins University. He shares his views on how a legacy of prejudice tied to disease should lead us to reexamine how we respond when outbreaks occur.

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Jim and Maeve answer listener vaccine questions and are joined by Alexis Madrigal, who explains the apparent plateau in cases (and why he’s begun to worry despite his longer-term optimism). With the COVID Tracking Project winding down, Madrigal also offers insight about where to get the best data.

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Jim and Katherine look back on a year of this pandemic podcast to what we’ve learned, what we haven’t, and what we can look forward to. (Also, Jim talks with Anthony Fauci!)

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With three vaccines now approved and news that the U.S. will have enough shots for every adult by the end of May, it feels like the country is turning a corner. But, even after getting vaccinated, Americans still have to mask and distance. Why is that? Can you still spread it? And with lots of efficacy numbers out there, is one vaccine ‘better’ than another?

James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins ask virologist Angela Rasmussen.

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Listeners with mild COVID-19 cases call with their questions. Jim explains why he thinks the summer could be wonderful. And Maeve shares nun news from Ireland.

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Nearly a year ago, The Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis predicted the pandemic would be “a disaster for feminism” and far too many of her predictions have proven true. With women leaving the workforce at unprecedented rates, why has the pandemic’s burden fallen so much harder on them? And what can we, as a society, do about it?

Also: Jim and Maeve answer listener questions about the virus (and discuss chickens).

Please fill out our listener survey! theatlantic.com/socialdistancesurvey

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Vaccines are a public good. And if we don’t make a lot more of them, COVID-19 may never really go away. 

Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiology professor at Yale’s School of Public Health who joined the show in May to talk about his career as an AIDS activist, explains to Jim and Maeve how our moral failure to help vaccinate the rest of the world may come back to haunt us — and what big steps we’d need to take to prevent that.

Please fill out our listener survey at theatlantic.com/socialdistancesurvey. It helps us understand who we’re making this show for and how we can keep improving it. (And it helps us to make new shows that suit what you like!)

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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. 

Subscribe to The Experiment here:

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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America hit 100,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time today. Unlike the wave in the spring, this one is spread across the country and especially hitting rural communities.

Carlos Sanchez, the head of public affairs for Hidalgo County in south Texas, talks about the fight that he and his home have had against COVID. Read his story in The Atlantic here. And read Adam Serwer on a Blue Texas here.

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Could the election shape the course of the pandemic? Or is the ship too hard to turn by now? Staff writer Ed Yong joins the show to explain what a new administration can actually change—and what he worries may be built into our response now.

Read Ed Yong’s writing about the election, how the pandemic defeated America, and why our “pandemic spiral” have led to the same repeated errors.

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Americans now face a third wave of the coronavirus. New lockdowns may soon follow—this time, without economic support. 

Many provisions of the CARES Act ran out in July and Congress missed its deadline this week to pass new support before the election. We talk to Prof. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, an expert on the social safety net, about how dire the economic situation already is for many families.

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With worries about the Affordable Care Act looming over Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, an expert gives us a refresher on the landmark health law—and answers questions about what it would mean to lose the law during the pandemic. 

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Well it happened. But the president’s doctor isn’t providing a complete picture of Trump’s condition. What do we know about an outbreak coverup in the West Wing?

Read Jim’s recent stories here. And subscribe to The Atlantic: theatlantic.com/supportus

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At this week’s presidential debate, Donald Trump claimed he “brought back Big Ten football.” The college conference voted to send student athletes back on the field this fall—a decision that came only days after researchers at Ohio State (the current Big Ten champion) published a study of athletes who had contracted mild COVID cases, but showed signs of myocarditis, a potentially serious and long-lasting heart condition.

Jim and Katherine ask cardiologist Dr. Amy Kontorovich what we know about COVID’s impact on the heart. And Jim calls staff writer Adam Harris to ask why schools are putting student athletes at risk—and whether the controversial decision could change college athletics.

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Katherine’s been dreading the cold months and the problems they might bring. She asks Jim what to expect and how to prepare. And Alexis Madrigal joins for a live Atlantic Festival taping to share the different winter scenarios with testing and a vaccine.

Read Jim’s piece about winter here. And support this show by becoming an Atlantic subscriber at theatlantic.com/supportus.

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Katherine’s in California, where things could be better. She’s been wearing two masks—one for the coronavirus, and one for the wildfire smoke—but she isn’t sure how to interpret the air quality warnings. Jim wants to know how air pollution like the smoke interacts with COVID-19. So they called Dr. John Balmes, an expert who’s studied inhaled pollutants for decades and serves as the Physician Member for the California Air Resources Board.

Join us live next week at the Atlantic Festival at 12pm ET. We’ll be joined by Alexis Madrigal and will take questions. Register for free at: theatlanticfestival.com

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The path out the pandemic is a vaccine. Short of that, it could be rapid testing. And the sooner, the better ... right? Sarah Zhang and Alexis Madrigal explain how close we are to each solution — and how much of a solution each may be if rushed.

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With news that a White House pandemic adviser reportedly pushed a “herd immunity strategy,” Katherine and Jim ask an expert about what that would mean. Dr. Howard Forman, a Yale professor and emergency radiologist, explains why Sweden isn’t the example people think it is—and why many people are talking about “herd immunity” all wrong.

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Writer F.T. Kola had COVID-19 in March, and she’s still dealing with the aftermath. She calls to ask about whether she should donate plasma, and if she should worry about “reinfection.” Then, senior editor John Hendrickson talks about disability at the DNC. Read his definitive story on Joe Biden and stuttering here.

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When live events went online, they lost something indescribable. But did some gain something new? Maeve Higgins explains why comedy needs a crowd. James Fallows argues that politics might be better on Zoom.

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Katherine takes a road trip. Jim talks to staff writer Robinson Meyer about COVID cars—and how a new wave of car ownership could change cities for better, or worse.

Also: N95s! Surgical masks! Gaiters! What face coverings actually work? (And when should you wear them?)

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Jim explains the terms Katherine hears in news about scientific studies — and why the pandemic may be changing science. And Ed Yong joins to discuss how American healthcare needs to change to beat the coronavirus. (Read his cover story here.)

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Katherine tries to convince Jim to take on a new hobby with help from self-described “bird nerd,” Jason Ward.

Follow Jason Ward on Twitter & Instagram.

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Jim wants to see a modern version of the Civilian Conservation Corps. As it happens, there’s a bill in Congress to dramatically expand national service called the CORPS Act. Senator Chris Coons has led the effort to pass it. He joins the show to talk about solving two problems with one bill.

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Staff writer Graeme Wood makes his first visit to Walt Disney World in the midst of a pandemic.

You can read Graeme's piece here and support all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at http://theatlantic.com/supportus.

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Katherine gets the results of her coronavirus and antibody tests. She has questions about what they mean, so immunologist Dr. Lisa Butterfield joins to explain the immune system (with help from Jim’s metaphors).

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In a few days, 30 million Americans will lose the $600 in unemployment insurance they’ve depended on every week. What happens next? Annie Lowrey, staff writer and author of Give People Money, joins to explain.

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Jim talks about his new book Clean: The New Science of Skin with his dream interviewer. Sort of. 

You can buy his book here: rb.gy/anajcp

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This week, the Trump administration mandated that hospitals no longer send their data to the CDC, and the public appears to have lost access to key data. Alexis Madrigal, staff writer and co-founder of The Atlantic’s COVID Tracking Project, joins to explain what happened and why it matters as states seek to reopen.

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Jim answers a listener question about plane flights. Katherine peppers him with hypotheticals. Jim unfurls a bad metaphor, again.

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Over 40 percent of all coronavirus deaths in America have been linked to nursing homes. How did it happen, and how bad could it get? Staff writer Olga Khazan joins to explain.

Read her piece on nursing homes here, and Jim's piece on herd immunity here.

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How does this end? Absent a treatment or vaccine, coronavirus won’t stop spreading until we reach herd immunity. But what is it?

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What does the surge in cases in the south and west mean for the country’s chances of containing the pandemic? Staff writer Alexis Madrigal explains.

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Why Wall Street's doing great while everything else is not

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Many plans for school reopenings involve a mix of online and in-person instruction. That could have huge downstream effects on a workforce that can’t rely on children being in or out of school. Staff writer Helen Lewis shares a solution that’s too logical to actually happen.

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The latest on a mysterious syndrome hitting kids — and what it means for schools.

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Colleges and universities pack students into dorms, classrooms, and parties. Now they have to figure out how to do that in a pandemic. Staff writer Adam Harris joins to discuss what they’re planning for the fall.

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Cases are on the rise in twenty-five states. A vaccine is, for now, a distant dream. How do we negotiate the ethical trade-offs of the deaths to come in the meantime? Dr. Lydia Dugdale, medical ethicist and author of The Lost Art of Dying, joins to discuss.

Note: this episode was recorded on June 23rd, 2020. All numbers mentioned were accurate for that date.

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Jim explains how ventilation affects the spread of the virus with yet another unwieldy metaphor. Plus, a puppy update.

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In the last few months, many people who have the option have chosen to leave big cities. Will their departures be permanent? Staff writer Amanda Mull has been talking to demographers to find out.

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As the virus continues to spread, how do we reckon with the reality of ongoing death and disruption? Public theologian Ekemini Uwan explains the idea of “radical acceptance.” Read Ekemini’s piece in The Atlantic.

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Supplements and vitamins claim to “boost your immune system.” Jim explains why this is nonsense.

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Rising case numbers, an empty theme park, and 22 teams in quarantine. What could go wrong? Joel Anderson, Slate staff writer and co-host of Hang Up and Listen, joins to explain what's going on with the NBA.

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Jim answers listener questions: Is it safe to sing? Should we be worried about asymptomatic spread? Plus, a "kerfluffle" for Katherine.

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The pandemic isn’t going away, and its spread is hard to predict.

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City and state budgets are in serious trouble after the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Some protesters have a proposal: defund the police. Sociologist Alex Vitale, author of “The End of Policing,” explains the research and nuance behind the idea.

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The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis has sparked large protests and marches, giving rise to a new set of concerns about how to safely and effectively exist. Jim and Katherine share the latest on how to protest as safely as possible. Ultimately, safety has less to do with the protesters than those overseeing them.

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The health effects of racism are usually less obvious than murder.

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The federal government has passed big reforms in response to economic crises before. Could it now? Harvard historian Lizabeth Cohen shares lessons—and warnings—from the New Deal.

Read her piece for The Atlantic.

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If you watch the news, the country sounds deeply divided about the coronavirus. But polls show an uncommon unity among Americans. Staff writer James Fallows joins to share some historical perspective and answer the question he’s found himself grappling with across his decades-long career: Is America going to make it?

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Jim spent years writing a book on hygiene beliefs and the new science of the skin microbiome. In it, he suggests that some people overuse cleansers and soaps, and may benefit from doing less. But now, there’s a pandemic, and he also really wants to remind people to wash their hands. Jim tries to explain the nuances of good cleaning and bad cleaning—and why he does not shower in the traditional sense.

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The president wants to pull the United States out of the WHO. Public health professor Kelley Lee explains what it does and why defunding the world’s main public health body during a pandemic is not a great idea. Plus, Jim shows off his math skills.

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There’s promising news around a vaccine, but what does it mean? And should we speed up its development with ‘challenge trials’ by letting vaccinated people be exposed to the virus?

Infectious disease expert Dr. Stephen Thomas returns to the show to discuss the medical and ethical issues. Also, Katherine faces a minor challenge of her own.

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Many of our isolated lives fit the normal criteria for depression, but of course these aren't normal times. So, when the world is this depressing, how do you tell when you're actually depressed? Clinical psychologist Dr. Jennifer Rapke explains how to think through mental health questions in the time of COVID-19.

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A video making outlandish and obviously false claims about the coronavirus is making the rounds on the internet. Adrienne LaFrance joins to talk about the psychology of abandoning the factual realm.

Check out "Shadowland" from The Atlantic here.

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It’s hard to talk about end-of-life care. You should do it anyway. Edo Banach, the President & CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, explains how to create an advance directive — and the best ways to approach the conversation with loved ones.

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The pandemic has made the terms of the “racial contract” visible — but it is a structure that existed long before. Adam Serwer joins to discuss the connection between coronavirus policy and the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. Read his recent piece in The Atlantic.

Note: this week, the show will be publishing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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With most movie theaters closed across the country and no certain timeline for the next big releases, staff writer David Sims gives us recommendations on what to watch.

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New rituals and ethical conundrums of dating and socializing are beginning to reveal themselves. Staff writer Joe Pinsker joins to discuss.

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Recent news stories raised concerns about multiple ‘strains’ of the coronavirus. Ed Yong joins to explain what’s going on, and why we probably shouldn’t worry right now.

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Caitlin Flanagan on navigating Stage IV cancer during a pandemic. Read her story in The Atlantic.

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The economic news is catastrophic. And it’s probably going to get worse. Annie Lowrey joins to talk about why the U.S. didn’t fare as well as other countries, and what it needs to do next. Also, Jim talks about walk poetry.

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In many ways, this crisis is unprecedented. But in others, it is not. Gregg Gonsalves became an AIDS activist in the 80s, and is now an epidemiologist working on public health and human rights. He says the history of HIV can offer us warnings -- and some hope.

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Staff writer and Georgia native Amanda Mull joins to talk about the political forces pushing to reopen her home state.

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Katherine is worried Jim is endangering himself and needs to sleep more, so she’s holding an intervention. Tricia Hersey of the Nap Ministry joins to talk about the importance of sleep and how, especially right now, everyone would benefit from prioritizing rest.

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Jim and Katherine answer questions from listeners. If you have a question, email us at socialdistance@theatlantic.com or leave us a voicemail at 202-642-6487.

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What the future of your neighborhood storefront tells us about the outlook for the American city. Derek Thompson joins to explain.

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What is the financial toll on those who get sick? And will the pandemic change our healthcare system? Dr. Howard Forman, a Yale professor of public health and economics, joins Jim and Katherine to explain the costs of American medicine and what it would take to bring those costs down.

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Staff writers Hannah Giorgis and Spencer Kornhaber join to talk about what the celebrities are up to and whether our fascination with them will survive this.

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Jim explains why COVID-19 can be fatal for some and mild for others.

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Jim met Bootsie Plunkett in March while filming a comedy segment for Stephen Colbert. A few weeks later she was in the hospital. She joins to talk about experiencing the terror of an ICU during a pandemic and how much a person's perspective can change in a month.

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Staff writer Sarah Zhang joins Jim and Katherine to talk about the limits of antibody testing, whether we’ll be carrying around cards with our immunity status, and the lessons she’s learned from reporting on Yellow Fever.

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Amid a surge of romantic expression, staff writer Ashley Fetters advises Katherine and Jim on the psychology of reconnection, contrition, and making things right in the end.

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Staff writer Ed Yong braces Jim and Katherine for a very different summer than most of us are used to.

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James has been getting a lot of strange replies on social media. McKay Coppins joins to talk about modern propaganda, the history of disinformation, and where these comments might be coming from.

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Jim and Katherine call Maeve Higgins, a comedian and writer who left New York a month ago for her home country of Ireland. She talks about the precarious situation of immigrants, what it’s like to live at home again as an adult, and her disastrous flirtation with self-improvement.

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What's been the difference in the parts of the country that haven't seen as bad an outbreak? Staff writer Russell Berman talks about how officials on the West Coast responded to the problem.

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Friends and writers F.T. Kola and Karan Mahajan have both recently recovered from COVID-19. They join to talk about immunity, survivor’s guilt, and how outcomes depend on a strange calculus of privilege and chance.

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