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A ‘pandemic on fast forward’ Jan 04, 2022

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Omicron has coronavirus cases surging across the country. What’s the outlook for this highly transmissible variant?

The highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus has taken over as the dominant strain in the United States. Now, post-holidays, virus cases are surging, with about 500,000 per day in the United States. Americans are struggling with breakthrough infections, strained hospital systems and the uncertainty of what might come next.

Reporter Dan Diamond discusses what you need to know about the omicron variant and what it could tell us about how the pandemic might end.

What is a tree worth? Jan 03, 2022

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The Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is home to some of the oldest trees in the country. For decades, they were felled indiscriminately for lumber. Will the remaining trees be protected?

Old-growth trees are at the heart of a political debate on logging and climate change. That’s because they hold a disproportionate amount of carbon in their trunks. If they’re cut down, most of that carbon escapes into the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming. But they’re also worth thousands of dollars as lumber.

Post climate editor Juliet Eilperin traveled to Alaska to learn about the forests firsthand, and to speak with some of the people who have built their lives around logging.

One last look at 2021 Dec 30, 2021

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A farewell to 2021 from us here at Post Reports and the photojournalists who witnessed the year’s biggest stories.

The Washington Post photography editors combed through thousands of images to find the most memorable from 2021. Accompanying the photos this year are interviews with the photojournalists who took them. The team at Post Reports felt inspired by the interviews and images to look back on the past year.

The images of 2021 tell a complex yet dramatic story. It was a year of the angry and the rebellious scaling walls, tearing down barriers, rising up to reverse reality. But it was also a year of carefully considered verdicts and hurriedly ended war, of mass migration and candlelight vigils, a year when millions of people decided to take a shot, venture forth and return to life, together.

There was, perhaps above all, the terror of lethal disease, a second year of a pandemic that unraveled the fabric of daily life and managed to set people against each other in ways that defied reason. The usual questions born of insecurity — Will we be okay? How can we help each other? — were joined by new uncertainties: Is this real? What should I believe? Why don’t people around me believe what I see is true?

If you valued the journalism on this podcast and in this newspaper this year, subscribe to The Washington Post. Right now you can get the best deal we’ve ever offered on a subscription to The Washington Post – a year for just $9.99. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

Hasan Minhaj’s diasporic comedy Dec 29, 2021

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Today on Post Reports, we talk to Hasan Minhaj about how he uses comedy to “make people’s world bigger.”

Hasan Minhaj has worked as a comedian for 17 years. You might know him from “The Daily Show,” the 2017 White House correspondents’ dinner, or his Netflix show, “Patriot Act.”

On today’s episode of Post Reports, producer Linah Mohammad talks to Minhaj about representation in film and television, their relationship to Islam and what it means to be a diasporic voice in the comedy world.

J. Smith-Cameron on ‘Succession’ Dec 28, 2021

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Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to one of the people who brought us joy during a dark year: the actor J. Smith-Cameron. We cover her role as Gerri on “Succession” and how it feels to become a sex symbol in her 60s.

J. Smith-Cameron is having a moment.

“Succession” Season 3 wrapped up recently – and one of the highlights for us was her character, Gerri Kellman, the calculating interim CEO of Waystar Royco. We talked to the actor about the show and what makes her character so fun to watch.

Right now you can get the best deal we’ve ever offered on a subscription to The Washington Post – a year for just $9.99. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

Amazon, can I have my name back? Dec 27, 2021

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Amazon's use of Alexa as a wake word for its voice assistant turned the name into a command, impacting daily interactions for people with the name – including The Washington Post’s own Alexa Juliana Ard.

Nearly 130,000 people in the United States have the name Alexa. It gained popularity after singer Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley named their daughter Alexa in 1985. In 2015, more than 6,000 baby girls in the United States were named Alexa, according to a Washington Post analysis of Social Security Administration data.

After Amazon chose Alexa as the wake word of its voice service, the name’s popularity plummeted. In 2020, only about 1,300 babies were given the name. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Post video editor Alexa Juliana Ard reports on the impact of Amazon’s choice on Alexas - including her.

Watch Alexa’s video about Alexa Jade Morales. She was named after her father, Alexis Morales Jr., who was murdered on Oct. 1, 1992, just three and a half months before she was born. When Amazon made the name Alexa a wake word for its voice service, she experienced people treating her like the bot.

Right now you can get the best deal we’ve ever offered on a subscription to The Washington Post – a year for just $9.99. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

The holidays are weird. Carolyn Hax is here to help. Dec 23, 2021

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The holidays are weird — this year especially. Today, Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax joins Martine Powers to answer your questions about navigating this tricky time of year.

The holiday season can be complicated; throw in the spike in omicron cases, and this already stressful time of year just got even trickier. Enter: Carolyn Hax, The Post’s brilliant advice columnist. Today on Post Reports, she’s here to help our listeners and readers navigate the holidays. You can listen to our episode with Hax from earlier in the year about how to gather with family and friends safely here.

Right now you can get the best deal we’ve ever offered on a subscription to The Washington Post – a year for just $9.99. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

Dr. Wen’s advice for the holidays Dec 22, 2021

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Omicron is now the most prevalent variant of the coronavirus in the country. But public health expert and emergency physician Leana Wen says that with a three-pronged approach — testing, vaccines and masks — we can still celebrate the holidays.

Once again, America is looking down the barrel of a winter surge of the coronavirus, thanks to the highly transmissible omicron variant. Houston Methodist Hospital, which has been sequencing genomes since the beginning of the pandemic, says that in a week, omicron spread as rapidly as the delta variant did in three months.

But emergency physician Leana Wen says this isn’t a time for despair: “Despite these staggering numbers, I don’t think vaccinated people should have to cancel their plans for Christmas, New Year’s Eve and other holidays.” Wen joined James Hohmann on his opinion podcast “Please, Go On” to talk about how we can use the tools we’ve developed to keep omicron at bay this holiday season.

The promise of anti-covid pills Dec 21, 2021

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How the approval of anti-covid pills from drug companies Pfizer and Merck could impact the course of the pandemic. And the life and legacy of feminist author bell hooks.

On Tuesday, President Biden urged calm as coronavirus cases rise, and the omicron variant becomes dominant in the United States. He touted a plan for more readily available testing and more resources for strained hospitals nationwide.

But on the horizon is another treatment against covid-19: antiviral pills. The pills are said to dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in vulnerable populations, and could be approved for use as early as this week. Health reporter Carolyn Y. Johnson explains what we know about the pills and what role they could play against the omicron variant.

Plus, a remembrance of bell hooks. Hooks died last week at the age of 69. She was a Black feminist author and critic who had a wary eye even on Beyoncé. “Hood Feminist” author Mikki Kendall reads her remembrance of hooks.

Omicron is everywhere. Here’s what to do. Dec 20, 2021

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Seemingly overnight, the pandemic has changed — again. On today’s Post Reports, everything you need to know about the omicron variant — and whether you should still plan to travel for the holidays.

Over the weekend, health reporter Dan Diamond wrote a Facebook post that changed the way we’re thinking about the omicron variant.

“Every expert I’ve interviewed, including some of the nation’s top health officials, has adjusted his or her mindset and now is mentally bracing to test positive after spending two years dodging this virus,” Dan wrote.

Today on Post Reports, we tell you everything we can about the omicron surge – and we talk to health reporter Fenit Nirappil about whether and how to travel and gather safely for the holidays.

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