In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt

More than 65 million people rely on Medicare for health insurance in the United States, and as Boomers continue to enroll, the agency is expanding its coverage while trying to contain rising costs. The person who heads this effort is Dr. Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare. In a special live episode taped at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Andy talks with Dr. Seshamani about the changin...

Three years after the start of the pandemic, former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden returns to reflect on what we got right and what we got wrong in our response to COVID-19. Andy gets the definitive answer to the question "do masks work?” Frieden also calls out one pharmaceutical company who could have helped save more lives and tells Andy what we need to do to prepare for the next pandemic. Plus, h...

This week, Andy takes you inside the West Wing, as he chats with Senior White House Advisor Anita Dunn about what it is really like working with the president. Dunn takes us behind the scenes as she shares her insights into how Biden keeps quietly chalking up wins while Republicans bluster in Congress. Find out what it’s like to tell the leader of the free world that he’s wrong and what Dunn, as o...

Now under indictment, former President Donald Trump could be on trial as soon as August. Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe joins Andy to run through the latest charges, the mountains of evidence Trump is facing, and the potential outcomes of a trial. In a fascinating, in-depth discussion filled with insight into the legal process, McCabe also compares Trump’s case to other politically charg...

In an eye-opening and powerful episode, Andy talks to Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), one of the most powerful members of Congress, about the debilitating anxiety he faced for years and his road back. Smith tells Andy about the fight against his inner voice that stirred his self-hatred, no matter how much he accomplished and how many people he helped. In his own revealing moment, Andy shares his own ch...

Despite what the Republican talking points say, the latest debt ceiling crisis ended in another victory for President Joe Biden. Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin tells Andy why she believes that Biden might be having one of the most effective presidencies of all time, even outpacing Obama. Andy asks if Speaker Kevin McCarthy reigned in the far right and if centrism is making a comebac...

Ron DeSantis’s disastrous campaign launch on Twitter Spaces drew public attention back to the ongoing collapse of Twitter since Elon Musk bought it. Users are fleeing, and Noam Bardin is hoping they will flock to his new platform, Post.news. Bardin, also the founder of traffic app Waze, joins Andy to discuss why we need a vibrant news and social media platform to ward off authoritarianism and how...

Republicans in Congress are playing chicken once again with the nation’s debt ceiling. Are Republicans really ready to test what happens if both sides can’t come to an agreement, or is this just political theatre? Andy talks to New York Times Congressional Correspondent Catie Edmondson, and Michael Feroli, Chief U.S. Economist at J.P. Morgan.  Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter @ASlavitt. Follo...

Why didn’t the long-expected surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border materialize following the end of the Title 42 policy? That’s why Andy wanted to find out this week. So he called up Michael D. Shear, White House Reporter for the New York Times. Andy and Michael discuss the end of Title 42, what the Biden Administration’s new border policy looks like, why neither the right nor left are happy a...

As BuzzFeed News shuts down this week, former editor-in-chief Ben Smith joins Andy to reflect on BuzzFeed’s successes and pitfalls and the end of the first digital era of news. Smith explains how they used metrics and analytics to change journalism, what he learned from his fateful meeting with Steve Bannon, and why the platforms are still bigger than the personalities -- even Tucker Carlson. They...

New guidelines from the CDC have people wondering: Just who should get a second COVID booster? In the Bubble favorite Dr. Eric Topol returns to break down who should get boosted, who should get a second booster, and who can wait a bit. They also discuss Eric’s thoughts on where we are in the fight against COVID and what the next frontier of vaccines will look like. Plus, Andy and Eric reflect on D...

In the Bubble is the go to place to learn more about the most important news events on YOUR mind. We take the time that’s needed to go beyond the headlines with A list guests from Andy's bubble. From Tina Fay to Tony Fauci. From the next vaccine to the next election issue. To an occasional dad joke. It’s Actual Facts from Actual Experts, every Wednesday from Lemonada Media. See omnystudio.com/list...

A tidal wave of federal money is set to flow into communities across the country as programs like the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act disperse funding. Andy speaks with Marguerite Casey Foundation president Dr. Carmen Rojas about how to make sure that money goes into the right hands. They also discuss the brightsides of COVID, h...

Tucker Carlson’s ousting from Fox News shocked the masses on Monday. Andy processes the news with writer and business entrepreneur Scott Galloway, who offers his thoughts on the breakup and predicts whether we’ll see Carlson make a run for president. They also commiserate over their shared addiction to Twitter, reflect on why we should embrace AI, and discuss how to foster more empathetic men. Kee...

Dr. David Fajgenbaum nearly died five times from Castleman Disease before deciding to find a cure for the rare disorder himself. As the clock was ticking, he discovered that the inexpensive kidney transplant drug sirolimus could save his life. Nine healthy years later, Andy speaks with David about how that experience motivated him to save more lives by finding new uses for existing medicines. Keep...

The seven states that rely on the Colorado River for the bulk of their water supply can’t agree on how to share the depleting resource. It’s a scary, interesting, and messy lesson on how to live amid climate change-induced scarcities. Andy speaks with reporter Luke Runyon, who covers the Colorado River for southwestern NPR stations, about the roots of the current crisis and the dramatic decision o...

All eyes are on the Supreme Court this week, as the temporary stay in the Texas mifepristone case expires. Andy speaks with Fatima Goss Graves from the National Women’s Law Center about the confusing rulings and what she expects the justices to do. Former FDA Commissioner Josh Sharfstein also joins to explain the dangerous precedent this case could set for FDA-approved drugs and drug development....

A bombshell report from ProPublica found that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been receiving undisclosed gifts from a conservative billionaire for decades, including luxury vacations and yacht outings. Is this an ethical crisis? Andy poses that question to Michael Waldman, the president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and a former adviser to President Clinton and B...

The Dobbs decision may be in the rearview mirror, but the abortion issue remains front and center. In fact, it’s becoming a winning platform for Democrats, as seen in the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Andy calls up New York Times politics reporter Reid Epstein and Capital Times reporter Jessie Opoien to discuss that race as a bellwether heading into the 2024 election season, and how Rep...

Why are conservative politicians launching a coordinated attack on transgender people right now? They’re implementing a power strategy used time and time again on countless marginalized groups in societies around the world, from Jews in Nazi Germany to gay people in 1990s America. Andy speaks with writer Shon Faye and reporter Jo Yurcaba about why it’s happening, how it impacts all of us, and what...

Mark Cuban has invested in more than a thousand companies, but only one has his name on it: Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. Started in 2022, his business aims to disrupt the health care industry by selling prescription drugs at transparent low prices. Mark talks to Andy about why the price of medication gets so distorted and how to fix it, plus he offers his thoughts on Trump’s indictment, ChatGPT, an...

In the latest iteration of voter suppression, members of the Republican Party are trying to prevent college students from voting by getting rid of polling places on campuses and disallowing college IDs as valid forms of identification. They say it’s in the name of voter fraud and public safety, but could it also be due to the fact that young voters are casting their ballots for Democrats in record...

What’s truly behind the proposed bill in Congress to ban the TikTok app? Andy thinks it may have more to do with U.S.-China competition than national security or our children’s mental health. He explores that opinion with investigative journalist Julia Angwin and Cornell’s Tech Policy Institute director Sarah Kreps, who lay out the concerns raised about TikTok and explain why banning it won’t keep...

Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender for his arraignment in New York tomorrow. What is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case, how will it impact Trump’s presidential primary campaign, and is this just the beginning of his legal woes? Andy speaks with law professor Jessica Levinson and Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake about what we know, what we hope to find out this...

The question of where COVID came from has been clouded by politics since the beginning. New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg separates the facts from political persuasion by discussing the latest evidence behind the two leading origin theories, how the investigation became so partisan, and whether the anticipated declassification of government intelligence could lead to an answer. Then, And...