The Air Conditioning Question
Jim explains how ventilation affects the spread of the virus with yet another unwieldy metaphor. Plus, a puppy update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episodes
Social Distance
Journalists from The Atlantic document the first 15 months of the coronavirus pandemic through regular phone calls. Listen in as Dr. Jim Hamblin, the producer Katherine Wells, and the comedian and the writer Maeve Higgins ask journalists, experts, and friends about the news and science behind the pandemic, get some advice, and learn how to apply it.
Episodes
People Are Panic Moving
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Serenity Now
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Should I Be Taking Something?
Supplements and vitamins claim to “boost your immune system.” Jim explains why this is nonsense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
An Extremely Bizarre Plan to Play Basketball
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can We Sing?
Jim answers listener questions: Is it safe to sing? Should we be worried about asymptomatic spread? Plus, a "kerfluffle" for Katherine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why the Virus Is Spreading So Unevenly
The pandemic isn’t going away, and its spread is hard to predict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Would Defunding Police Make Us Safer?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Limiting Protests Will Spread the Virus
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fighting the Machine
The health effects of racism are usually less obvious than murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sometimes, Things Can Change
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is America Going to Make It?
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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is Anyone Else Not Showering?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s a Small World Health Organization
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is There a Vaccine Shortcut?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Am I Depressed?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Comforting Appeal of Conspiracy Theories
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Have the Uncomfortable Conversation
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Racial Contract
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Have You Seen 'The Wretched'?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Will You Merge Bubbles With Me?
New rituals and ethical conundrums of dating and socializing are beginning to reveal themselves. Staff writer Joe Pinsker joins to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Don’t Worry About a ‘New Strain’
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
High Risk
Caitlin Flanagan on navigating Stage IV cancer during a pandemic. Read her story in The Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
So The Economy is a Disaster
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
‘Things Can Change In an Instant’
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Georgia Experiment
Staff writer and Georgia native Amanda Mull joins to talk about the political forces pushing to reopen her home state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You Are Worthy of Sleep
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is Human Touch Necessary?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Will the Restaurants Come Back?
What the future of your neighborhood storefront tells us about the outlook for the American city. Derek Thompson joins to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Much Does It Cost to Get COVID-19?
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices