In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt

The White House is ending the public health emergency and disbanding its COVID response team. Andy calls up outgoing coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha to find out what this means for the American people. Jha explains why the band is breaking up, predicts what might happen if a dangerous new variant wreaks havoc again, and promises free vaccines for the uninsured moving forward. Keep up with Andy on Twitt...

To honor the third anniversary of In the Bubble, Andy calls up his friend and former NIH director Dr. Anthony Fauci to reflect on the pandemic and the indelible mark it left on his career. Fauci shares his advice on how often to get boosted, offers his opinion on COVID’s origin, and compares the HIV/AIDS activists challenging public health officials in the 1980s to those protesting him today. Keep...

Many of us were on edge this week awaiting the possible criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. Trump himself called for protests ahead of his expected indictment, awakening the possibility of more political violence resembling the Jan 6 uprising. Andy speaks with Atlantic reporter Adrienne LaFrance about her cover story, “The New Anarchy,” which digs into this new era of domestic...

If poverty is a problem the U.S. knows how to fix, why do 40 million Americans live below the poverty line? Because a lot of us benefit from poor people, says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond, who explains to Andy why we do more to subsidize affluence than alleviate poverty. Matthew shares examples of real solutions you can advocate for in your community (and what to say the next time...

In a historic United Nations treaty, countries around the world agreed to protect ocean biodiversity by conserving 30 percent of the earth’s open oceans by 2030. Andy speaks with UN senior adviser Susan Ruffo about why the High Seas Treaty is so important, the oft-forgotten role the ocean plays in combating climate change, and how your life is intrinsically connected to the sea regardless of how f...

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse triggered the second-largest bank run in U.S. history. Who banked at SVB, how did it collapse, why did the federal government step in, and are more bank failures coming? Andy invites economists Justin Wolfers and Mark Zandi, along with WSJ reporter Ben Eisen, into the bubble to debate what this story brings to light about America’s banking system, our nation’s financ...

Medications approved for people with diabetes and obesity have recently gotten a lot of media attention as a potential easy way to shed pounds. What are the physical and societal risks of using drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro off label for weight loss, or for using these drugs as a quick weight-loss fix? Andy speaks with STAT reporter Elaine Chen and obesity medicine physician Ania Jastreboff abou...

Half of people who can do their jobs remotely are now working in a hybrid arrangement. That means they're working from home some days and a physical office on others. Andy speaks with NYT reporter Emma Goldberg and labor researcher Anu Madgavkar about why hybrid work is the future, what incentives employers are creating to entice workers back into the office, and whether COVID safety in the workpl...

Droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are forcing Americans to move. In his new book, “The Great Displacement: Climate Change And The Next American Migration,” Jake Bittle follows the people leaving their communities to find out what final straw forced them out, where they went, and what it means for our country. Andy speaks with Jake about how the US should prepare for more clim...

More than 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, meaning it touches almost all our lives. That number could double by 2050, unless a cure is found. How far away are we? Andy speaks with Dr. Paul Aisen and Dr. Rudolph Tanzi about the genetic factors that contribute to Alzheimer’s, promising blood tests that can detect the disease long before symptoms begin, and a treatment that could be approve...

During the beginning of the Pandemic, prisons were a hothouse for COVID infections. In some states, deaths from Covid more than doubled. Andy talks with Aaron Littman, director of the COVID Behind Bars Data Project, about what makes U.S. prisons "incubators of disease" and what it was like for incarcerated people as the virus ran rampant behind prison walls. They discuss why incarcerated people, w...

Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath that hosts promoted election fraud claims while privately criticizing Trump officials. That’s just one revelation in the $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems. Puck News correspondent Dylan Byers joins Andy to discuss why people still watch Fox News, plus what’s happening with CNN, and how news executives can capture a wider a...

Record gas prices helped oil giants rake in record profits last year while the climate crisis continues escalating. The companies say they are committed to a green future, but are their proposed climate solutions viable, or just more greenwashing? Andy breaks down these issues with Bill McKibben; scholar, climate activist and founder of Third Act; and NPR climate editor Neela Banerjee, who led the...

Several bills signed into federal law by President Biden pave the way for considerable investments in the fight against climate change. But what exactly are those investments and where will they show up in your everyday life? Andy gets those answers from John Podesta, the man tasked with turning Biden’s vision of a clean energy future into a reality. They discuss EV charging stations, heat pump re...

We are one year into the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II. President Biden marked the anniversary with a surprise visit to Ukraine while Vladimir Putin countered with a major speech from Moscow. Andy speaks with Liana Fix, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about where Russia and Ukraine stand today, what could escalate this war into something broader, and whether...

Every five minutes an American dies from an opioid or fentanyl overdose. An FDA panel is recommending Narcan be sold over the counter, which experts say would reverse more overdoses and save more lives. Andy traces the line between opioid prescriptions, heroin, fentanyl, and tranq with Scott Hadland, a pediatrician and addiction specialist at Mass General Hospital, and Sarah Laurel, who overcame h...

The federal COVID-19 public health emergency ends on May 11. What does that mean for the cost of vaccines, access to testing, and treatment options? Andy poses those questions to ER physician (and soon to be dean of Yale School of Public Health) Dr. Megan Ranney. They also discuss why virus scares like Mpox and avian influenza seem to be happening more often. Keep up with Andy on Twitter and Post...

If you view the idea of life on other planets as only science fiction, Laurie Leshin will prove you wrong. As the head of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she’s on the cutting edge of space innovation. Andy talks to Laurie about the latest discoveries on Mars, upcoming missions to Jupiter, and how we’re monitoring the health of our own planet from space. Keep up with Andy on Twitter and Post @ASl...

It’s hard to tell if the nation is making progress on police reform when another high profile killing like that of Tyre Nichols hits the news. Have body cameras helped? How about diversifying staff? Or doing away with no knock warrants? Andy poses those questions to activist DeRay Mckesson, who began Campaign Zero after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. DeRay explains why pol...

The bird flu is jumping mammal species, from chickens to minks to seals, giving it more opportunities to mutate. Andy talks to epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina and science writer David Quammen about the likelihood of H5N1 jumping to humans, how dangerous that would be, and how to prepare without overreacting.  Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter and Post @ASlavitt. Follow Katelyn Jetelina and Dav...

How will America change as Baby Boomers retire and Millennials gain more power? White House advisor Andy Slavitt talks to Washington Post columnist Philip Bump about what sets these two generations apart from one another and how the transition will impact the future of politics, wealth, and culture. Keep up with Andy on Twitter and Post @ASlavitt. Follow Philip Bump on Twitter @pbump. Joining Lemo...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is likely to be Donald Trump’s greatest challenger for the GOP presidential nomination. The Bulwark editor Charlie Sykes says that’s because he’s younger, smarter, and equally mean. Charlie tells Andy why DeSantis’ “anti-wokeism” platform resonates with conservatives, how his bullying behavior is just as dangerous as Trump’s, and who Joe Biden would rather run against...

Artificial intelligence programs like Chat GPT are becoming so advanced that it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish between something a human wrote and a robot. How could chatbots change our jobs, for better and worse? How could they threaten national security? Andy speaks with Congressman Ted Lieu and Stanford researcher Renée DiResta about the risks and benefits of dramatically developing...

Three years into the pandemic, roughly 65 million people suffering from Long COVID worldwide are still looking for answers to the mix of symptoms that has baffled doctors and experts. Dr. Eric Topal and three researchers suffering from the condition themselves published a new study laying out the newest major findings and preventative measures. Andy asks Eric about the likelihood of getting chroni...

America’s debt represents every deficit that's been run by every president, from George Washington to Joe Biden. Now, there’s a showdown between the White House and Congress over whether or not the House will vote to lift the debt ceiling as they've done dozens of times in the past. Andy gets specific with Jason Furman, who was an advisor to President Obama during the 2011 debt ceiling debate, abo...