Reopening America

Latest Episodes:

Workers Continue to Rebel Over Vaccine Mandates Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Vaccine mandates continue to be a problem for many companies that contract with the federal government. The clock is ticking with a December 8th deadline and thousands of employees have yet to be vaccinated. Many are requesting exemptions for religious and medical reasons and others are readying to file lawsuits in opposition. Tina Bellon, reporter at Reuters, joins us for the rebellion over these mandates.

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Why Teachers Are Still Quitting Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

The pandemic was a big inflection point for workers of all industries, but teachers were put in an especially difficult spot dealing with remote learning, back-to-school craziness, and concerns for their own health. Many teachers quit, and others are still thinking about it. Leslie Gray Streeter, author and contributor to The Washington Post Magazine, joins us to talk about conversations she had with teachers that left their profession because of the pandemic. Many felt guilt, anger and heartbreak over their choices.

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How to Solve the Facebook Problem Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

There has been a lot of scrutiny placed on social media recently in light of the Facebook Papers, and while social media has opened the line of communication for many, maybe we weren’t meant to talk to each other so much? The number of meaningful relationships a person can have is far less than the number of people you can accumulate in a social network, and that’s where the problems can start. Both genuine speech and misinformation gets muddled together very quickly. Ian Bogost, contributing writer at The Atlantic and Director of Film and Media Studies at Washington University, joins us for more.

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Why You Will Be Paying More for Everyday Items Oct 29, 2021

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Beware of higher prices for everyday items. You’ll be paying more for everything from coffee to toilet paper… and big companies are betting that you’ll keep paying those prices. Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Verizon and others all plan to continue raising prices and push customers to more expensive products well into 2022 to help offset the growing costs of the supply chain crisis. Sharon Terlep, consumer products reporter at the WSJ, joins us for why companies think you’ll stick with them as things get more expensive.

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Facebook Papers: How Their Algorithm Spread Anger and Misinformation Oct 28, 2021

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The Facebook Papers are out and it is shedding more light on how executives there weighed various tradeoffs between their bottom line and impacts on public safety. In one instance, it took them years to implement a fix for the algorithm that was feeding people angry, emotional content filled with misinformation. If you used the angry emoji on a post instead of the like button, it carried more weight and then feed you more of the same, despite the signal that you did not like it. Jeremy Merrill, data reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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Research Show That Millions Spent on Vaccine Lotteries Had Very Little Impact Oct 27, 2021

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Remember all those vaccine lotteries? It went something like this… get you vaccine and you’re automatically entered to win a million bucks. 19 states in total ran some type of lottery and spent at least $89 million, unfortunately, they didn’t work too well. Research says that the increases were “very small in magnitude and statistically indistinguishable from zero.” Erin Schumaker, science editor at Business Insider, joins us for more.

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Moderna Data Shows Its Vaccine Is Safe and Produces Antibodies in Children Ages 6-11 Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

Falling in line with what we heard from Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, Moderna has released interim data showing that their vaccine is also safe and produced the desired immune response in children ages 6-11. The dosage would be half of what it is for adults, but still come in a 2-shot protocol. Peter Loftus, pharmaceutical reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to expect as the vaccines get closer to being approved for children.

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Mass Firings Due to Vaccine Mandates Could Be Soon, What Happens Next? Oct 25, 2021

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We could very soon see mass firings across the country as deadlines for vaccine mandates approach. The federal government, certain states, and private companies have faced opposition from employees as some are still resisting their shots for a variety of reasons, but what happens after that? Disruptions to some essential services could occur as rehiring and training may lag. Firefighters, police, and nursing staff are not so easily replaced. Pedro Gonzalez, associate editor at Chronicles Magazine, joins us for more.

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Teen Girls Are Developing Tourette Syndrome-Like Tics and TikTok Could Be a Part of It Oct 22, 2021

Show notes

A recent phenomena has been turning up in doctors’ offices where teen girls are exhibiting sudden and severe physical tics. After digging into it, many of the girls had one thing in common, they are were watching Tourette syndrome TikTok videos. Most of these teens had also previously been diagnosed with anxiety or depression, but girls with tics are rare and these teens had a high number of them and in some cases the same tic, such as saying the word ‘beans.’ Julie Jargon, family and tech columnist at the WSJ, joins us for how these tics were developing because of social media.

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White House Unveils Plan to Vaccinate Children Age 5-11 Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

The White House has unveiled its plan for getting kids aged 5-11 vaccinated once the Pfizer vaccine is approved for that age range. The vaccines would be distributed at pediatric offices, pharmacies, and schools. The vaccine would be two shots at a lower dosage given three weeks apart. Kids are largely spared the worst effects of the virus so the big hurdle will be getting parents to vaccinate their kids while there is already so much pushback. Sabrina Siddiqui, White House reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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