In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt

Why do progressive states with lots of wealth often have the worst homelessness problem? Simply put, they stopped building enough affordable housing. Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas and California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff explain the obvious answer to homelessness, debunk myths about drugs and mental health, and spell out what needs to change in government policy and neighborhood senti...

The pandemic has caused many of us to ask ourselves what is truly important in our lives. What makes us happy? To answer that question, Andy brings on Robert Waldinger, who has done the longest research that's ever been completed on happiness. He and his team at Harvard Medical School have studied more than 700 families for 85 years, tracing their ups, downs, and in-betweens. They dig into what th...

Epidemiologist Mike Osterholm has devised a three-part formula for what to do if you want to get together with people in close quarters without a mask. He shares that advice with Andy and answers questions many of us have, including whether people under 50 should get boosted and when to take antivirals. Then, Andy and Mike critique the missteps made as this pandemic unfolded and what lessons we ne...

The latest fire in the culture war ignited when a government official suggested the possibility of banning gas stoves. Republicans quickly took to social media to proclaim their love for the household appliance, while environmentalists were left trying to explain the nuance of another long-term goal. Andy convenes a group of experts to cut through partisan politics in order to get facts, reasonabl...

There’s a renewed debate over safety in football after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s two serious concussions and Buffalo Bills defenseman Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest. Defensive tackle-turned-pro wrestler-turned-neuroscientist Chris Nowinski has taken a stand. He tells Andy about the new research on the long lasting effects of chronic head injuries, why kids under 14 shouldn’t be pl...

When soccer journalist Grant Wahl died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm during the World Cup, his wife Dr. Céline Gounder was bombarded by messages from online trolls saying that she killed her husband with the COVID vaccine. She decided to fight those trolls. Andy speaks with Céline about the five most common moves in the vaccine disinformation playbook, how artificial intelligence could make thing...

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has spent more than 20 years fighting for civil rights and racial justice, including successfully prosecuting the police officer who murdered George Floyd. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Andy calls up his friend to get his thoughts on what Dr. King would say about racism and inequality today. Rooted in the history of slavery and the civil rights moveme...

When the United States pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban promised that women would be allowed to exercise their human rights within the confines of Sharia law, including the right to work, study, and be in public squares. That was a lie. Former U.S. Department of State Diplomat Annie Pforzheimer explains the actual situation for women today in Afghanistan and why the U.S. is both mora...

As fringe Republicans drive the agenda in Congress, Andy turns to the hope found in many states through newly elected and reelected governors. Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joins to discuss how he was able to bridge the rural-urban divide, first representing a district that voted for Trump and then winning statewide election in a purple state. Can we govern our country, states, and locali...

XBB.1.5 is being called the most transmissible subvariant of Omicron to date. With multiple mechanisms to evade our immune system, including getting around our monoclonal antibody treatments, it’s driving our January wave and leading to worse outcomes than previous mutations. Andy speaks with science journalist Laurie Garrett, who explains what makes XBB.1.5 unique and why the lack of global surve...

This year’s Congress is off to an astonishing start. As Kevin McCarthy moves his furniture into the speaker's office despite not having the votes, Andy talks to journalist Mark Leibovich about the shenanigans taking place within the House GOP. He explains why the Freedom Caucus is pushing for chaos, how reasonable Republicans are reacting, and what it all means for a functioning Congress. Mark als...

Congressman Jamie Raskin and the rest of the January 6 Committee are out with their final report. Andy asks Jamie about the chargeable offenses, what a criminal referral to the Justice Department does, and how to stop the Donald Trumps of the future. Raskin also discusses what Democrats can get done in this year’s divided government. Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter and Post @ASlavitt. Follow...

From our friends at This Day In Esoteric Political History, we bring you a recent episode about the 2012 GOP “Growth and Opportunity Report” – the blueprint Republicans put together for being a more welcoming and diverse party. A lot of the language echoes what the GOP is saying in the wake of this year’s midterms. And a lot of the recommendations were completely ignored during the rise of Donald...

Andy wants to share one of his favorite episodes from this year that’s just as relevant today as it was when we taped it. Millions of student loan borrowers breathed a sigh of relief after the White House revealed a plan to wipe clean a huge swath of debt (though it’s currently tied up in the courts). How meaningful is this policy, what are the broader implications to the economy, and will it help...

Andy wants to share one of his favorite episodes from this year that’s just as relevant today as it was when we taped it. The price of goods like gasoline and food is up sharply amid the highest inflation since the 1970s, and a stock market slump may be impacting your investment portfolio. What should you do as you watch the pump tick up and your 401(k) tick down? Andy sits down with two money exp...

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has reignited a debate about the dangers of social media. It may seem like all funny gifs and nephew photos, but these days, many sites are also full of dangerous lies that impact democracy, bullying that affects the mental health of our kids, human trafficking, and drug sales. Andy speaks with Stanford Law Professor Nate Persily and former Facebook employee Brandon Si...

Has inflation peaked? What will the economy look like next year? Are we heading into a recession? What will happen to unemployment and home prices? Andy has a lot of questions, and economist Justin Wolfers has educated predictions. They discuss how COVID continues to impact the supply chain, why unemployment numbers are so low right now, whether or not we’re in a wage price spiral, and some good n...

The public health emergency declared when COVID-19 hit the U.S. in early 2020 is expected to end this coming spring. What does that mean for the vaccines and testing that Americans have been receiving for free, not to mention their access to broader health insurance coverage? Andy explores this question with physician and Medicaid expert Meera Mani, who explains why 15 million people could be at r...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial plan to address homelessness would allow police to involuntarily remove people with mental illness from the street and bring them to the hospital. He calls it the moral thing to do. Is it, or is it a violation of people's constitutional rights? Are there better ways? Andy speaks with reporter Maya Kaufman about how the plan is getting rolled out and th...

Many crypto platforms entice new investors by saying you should buy into the industry even if you don't understand it, or else risk getting left behind. Andy has some issues with that. He speaks to reporter Laura Shin, who’s been covering the crypto industry since 2015, about his major qualms with digital currencies, from carbon emissions and marketing deception to its unregulated nature. Laura ex...

Andy wants to share a new show from Lemonada Media called Uncared For. You’re more likely to die as a pregnant person in the United States than any other wealthy nation in the world. Why? This six-part series, hosted by award-winning journalist SuChin Pak (Add to Cart, MTV News), takes a deeply personal and wide-ranging look at maternal health care around the globe to find the answer. We start in...

Antisemitism is infiltrating mainstream politics and pop culture in new and pernicious ways. Fresh off a meeting at the White House about the rise of antisemitism, George Selim from the Anti-Defamation League describes to Andy how the words from a politician, rapper or comedian can help spark the hate crimes his organization tracks. Rabbi Steve Leder from the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angel...

Despite some uptick in cases and hospitalizations, COVID is disrupting life less this winter compared to winters past. Why, and what does that mean as we enter 2023? Andy speaks with epidemiologist and ITB favorite Katelyn Jetelina, who offers an hypothesis for why new mutations are not wreaking havoc like Omicron did last year. She also breaks down the added dangers of flu and RSV and predicts th...

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof spent more than a week in Ukraine touring towns recently abandoned by Russian forces and speaking with Ukrainians consumed with grief and trauma. He saw torture chambers, interviewed women who were beaten and raped by Russian soldiers, and learned of Ukrainian kids trafficked to Russia to be put up for adoption. Nick tells Andy that these crimes against hu...

The widespread protests against the Chinese government are the most extensive since Tiananmen Square in 1989. The demonstrations are against both the severe zero-COVID policies and Xi Jinping’s rule. But the consequences of protesting in China are harsh. Andy speaks with two China experts, Xiao Qiang at the University of California Berkeley and Michael Beckley at Tufts University, about whether CO...