Podcasts by The Daily 202s Big Idea

Doctors remain unsure whether you can get coronavirus twice from 2020-07-23T11:45:29

Plus, federal agents tear gas the mayor of Portland, and Republican lawmakers privately discuss what to do if President Trump loses and refuses to leave.

Growing GOP rift over how much to spend in next coronavirus bill from 2020-07-22T12:06:33

Plus, President Trump says the pandemic is likely to get worse before it gets better, and the mayor of Miami threatens to lock up residents who refuse to wear masks.

Led by Merkel, E.U. leaders agree to major bailout package at contentious summit from 2020-07-21T11:38:12

Plus, President Trump threatens to deploy federal agents to Chicago, New York and other cities led by Democrats, and hundreds are camping out in Oklahoma’s unemployment lines.

Families of coronavirus victims are losing faith in America from 2020-07-20T11:47:03

Plus, the president struggles to defend his handling of covid-19, and endangered GOP senators are under pressure as Congress returns from recess to take up a new relief package.

U.S., Britain and Canada say Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research from 2020-07-17T11:00

Plus, Sun Belt hospitals are feeling the strain from virus’ surge, and tens of thousands of mail ballots have been tossed out in this year’s primaries.

Trump replaces campaign manager as polls show him trailing Biden from 2020-07-16T11:00

Plus, mask mandates catch on as states and businesses try to bypass a toxic debate, and a fight over nude swimming marks return of pre-coronavirus banalities in Europe.

Trump administration backs off plan requiring international students to take face-to-face classes from 2020-07-15T11:00

Plus, Joe Biden embraces more aggressive steps in climate plan, and big banks prepare for protracted recession, report significant drop in profits

At college health centers, students battle misdiagnoses and inaccessible care from 2020-07-14T11:00

Plus, workers are pushed to the brink as they continue to wait for delayed unemployment payments, and Trump cites game show host on pandemic while undercutting doctors and questioning their expertise.

Florida shatters single-day infection record with 15,300 new cases from 2020-07-13T11:00

Plus, Anthony Fauci is sidelined by the White House as he steps up blunt talk on pandemic, and President Trump’s drop in polls has confident Democrats sensing ‘a tsunami coming’ in November.

Supreme Court says Manhattan prosecutor may pursue Trump’s financial records from 2020-07-10T11:00

Plus, the GOP eyes narrowing second round of $1,200 stimulus payments, and The Nationals have a new way to kick their habit of spitting sunflower seeds: masks.

With pressure and threats, Trump pushes to fully reopen schools from 2020-07-09T11:00

Plus, according to body camera transcripts, George Floyd warned police he thought he would die because he couldn’t breathe, and robots can be just what the doctor ordered in time of social distancing

Trump’s attacks on mail voting are turning Republicans off absentee ballots from 2020-07-08T11:00

Plus, the Trump administration formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. And, in a Pennsylvania nursing home, some veterans r...

Trump and Biden campaigns shift focus to coronavirus as pandemic surges from 2020-07-07T11:00

Plus, evictions are likely to skyrocket this summer, and SBA data show small-business loans went to private-equity backed chains, members of Congress.

RNA experiments leap to the front in coronavirus vaccine race from 2020-07-06T11:00

Plus, research finds that the coronavirus will undermine trust in government, and historians question Trump’s choice of ‘heroes’ for national garden monument.

Drug overdoses are accelerating amid coronavirus from 2020-07-02T11:47:01

Plus, new coronavirus cases topped 50,000 yesterday for the first time ever, and Pfizer reports some encouraging early vaccine data.

Intelligence on Russia’s bounty operation was more solid than the White House has claimed from 2020-07-01T11:11:55

Anthony Fauci warns that America may soon wind up with 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day, and people who got their jobs back after being laid off in March are losing them again.

A mutation that makes the coronavirus more infectious is spreading from 2020-06-30T11:18:27

Plus, reopenings grind to a halt as Sunbelt states witness a surge in hospitalizations, and critical deadlines are approaching to extend expiring relief measures.

Mississippi will remove Confederate battle emblem from the state flag from 2020-06-29T11:43:29

Plus, coronavirus infections surpass 2.5 million in the U.S. And Trump allies are pushing the president to shake up his campaign.

Blunders by Arizona’s governor turned his state into the new ground zero for covid-19 from 2020-06-26T11:44:05

Plus, President Trump races to open more than two-thirds of the largest swath of U.S. public land to drilling, and protesters in D.C. are now demanding the removal of a statue of Abraham Lincoln.

Record numbers of new coronavirus infections have not translated to deaths. Yet. from 2020-06-25T11:30:39

Plus, Trump is deploying troops and marshals to protect monuments. And Tucson’s police chief offers to resign after releasing unsettling body camera footage.

Major League Baseball will return in July from 2020-06-24T11:36:10

Plus, a federal prosecutor will testify that he faced political pressure to go easy on Roger Stone, and the Senate is teetering on the cusp of failure in the push for police reform.

Police chiefs keep losing their jobs in June from 2020-06-23T11:39:46

Plus, public health officials are leaving their posts in the face of death threats, and President Trump is increasingly preoccupied with defending his mental capacity.

White House in damage control mode after Trump said he told aides to slow down coronavirus testing from 2020-06-22T11:33:07

Plus, the president is fuming about his small crowd in Tulsa. And, a Minnesota jail is allegedly giving special treatment to the officer charged with killing George Floyd.

John Bolton’s book portrays Trump as cozy with autocrats from 2020-06-18T12:09:58

Plus, a deal to start the baseball season appears within reach after a secret meeting in Arizona. And the former Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks was charged with murder.

Five recommendations to prepare for the next pandemic, according to 29 national security pros from 2020-06-17T11:26:04

Plus, an inexpensive steroid is the first drug shown to reduce coronavirus deaths, and some good news for getting kids back to school this fall.

Only one of the winning plaintiffs in the Supreme Court’s landmark LGBTQ ruling lived to see it from 2020-06-16T11:48:04

Plus, volunteers put their lives on the line as guinea pigs for a coronavirus vaccine, and cars have rammed into crowds of peaceful protestors 19 times this month.

A revealing portrait of the indignities facing black men in America in 2020 from 2020-06-15T11:32:16

Plus, a Republican congressman loses his seat because he officiated a gay wedding, and New York’s governor threatens to reverse reopenings because people aren’t social distancing.

Some folks just cannot kick the coronavirus from 2020-06-12T11:49:48

Plus, the sign-up page for President Trump’s rallies now includes a coronavirus liability waiver, and the Trump administration is concealing the identities of coronavirus loan recipients, shielding...

The focus for police reform shifts from the streets to the Capitol from 2020-06-11T11:40:44

Plus, the Federal Reserve forecasts a slow recovery – with worsening inequality. And the voting debacle in Georgia’s primary this week does not bode well for November.

Coronavirus hospitalizations on the rise from 2020-06-10T11:20:04

Plus, the World Health Organization clarifies that asymptomatic people can transmit the coronavirus, and, patients who survive covid-19 because of ventilators face an arduous recovery.

Elected leaders push back on calls to ‘defund’ police, but a reckoning is still underway on race from 2020-06-09T11:38:24

Plus, fourteen states report new record-high coronavirus infections, and the Trump administration is making it easier for hunters to kill hibernating bear cubs and slaughter wolf pups in national p...

Minneapolis city council wants to dismantle its police department. What does that mean? from 2020-06-08T11:40:32

Plus, protesters in Europe are pushing for a reckoning with racism in their own countries. And, President Trump is struggling to come up with a new campaign slogan.

George Floyd memorial service paints a picture of the person who has become a symbol from 2020-06-05T11:53:13

Plus, as protests continue in D.C., President Trump clashes with the mayor over control of the city’s streets. And the black-white economic divide is as bad today as it was when the 1968 riots brok...

Police tactics questioned in wake of Floyd’s death and protest crackdowns from 2020-06-04T12:07:06

Plus, Former Defense Secretary Mattis blasts President Trump. And Virginia’s governor is going to take down the Robert E. Lee statue in downtown Richmond.

CIA veterans worry that militarized response to protests erodes U.S. moral authority from 2020-06-03T11:33:29

Plus, Tony Fauci says he’s “cautiously optimistic” about a coronavirus vaccine in the pipeline, and protesters defy curfews again, but tensions appear to ease in several cities.

Protesters tear-gassed before D.C. curfew so Trump could have a photo op from 2020-06-02T11:14:44

Plus, more than 60 million Americans are now under curfews, with terrible reports of lootings and shootings from coast to coast. And, local leaders say white instigators are to blame for some of th...

More curfews are in effect across America than at any time since MLK’s assassination from 2020-06-01T11:41:47

Plus, as more cities burn, President Trump stays silent – other than tweeting fuel on the fire. And, the rioting sparks alarm about fresh coronavirus outbreaks in the African American community.

Minneapolis is burning from 2020-05-29T11:37:18

Plus, seven are shot in Louisville as protests against police brutality turn violent from coast to coast, and law enforcement leaders race to distance themselves from the four Minnesota cops who ha...

The coronavirus is here to stay, as U.S. death toll surpasses 100,000 from 2020-05-28T11:15:04

Plus, deadly protests in Minneapolis. And President Trump plans to sign an executive order targeting social media companies.

Gilead can charge whatever it wants for remdesivir, despite massive federal subsidies and support from 2020-05-27T11:09:36

Plus, the health department watchdog being purged by President Trump is pursuing 14 investigations of his botched response to the coronavirus, and a third of Americans are showing signs of clinical...

Meat shortages may get worse as the food processing industry struggles to get back to normal from 2020-05-26T11:21:37

Plus, Memorial Day gatherings alarm public health officials across America, and Joe Biden wears a mask as he leaves his house for the first time in months.

CDC clarifies that coronavirus does not spread easily from contaminated surfaces or animals from 2020-05-22T11:39:35

Plus, young adults are increasingly affected by the Kawasaki-like syndrome linked to the contagion, and local governments are filling the void on contact tracing that’s been left by lackluster fede...

Models suggest a looming second wave of coronavirus in the South from 2020-05-21T12:03:06

Plus, Fauci worries that"Operation Warp Speed"plays into the hands of anti-vaxxers. And Trump considers a travel ban on Brazil.

Declining greenhouse gas emissions are good news – and bad news from 2020-05-20T11:33:57

Plus, the strongest and most dangerous hurricanes are now far more likely because of climate change, and EPA staff warned that mileage rollbacks had flaws, but Trump officials ignored them.

Bathrooms are a barrier to reopening from coronavirus from 2020-05-19T11:12:33

Plus, President Trump says he’s taking hydroxychloroquine, and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine shows encouraging early results.

As coronavirus tests become widely available, too few people are lining up to get tested from 2020-05-18T10:18:08

Plus, transit workers are paying a heavy price during the pandemic, and White House tensions with CDC spill into public view as top Trump adviser criticizes agency response.

Starvation could kill more people than the coronavirus in poorer countries facing the contagion from 2020-05-15T11:15:26

Plus, the CDC releases short reopening checklists after the White House blocks the release of substantive guidance, and an experiment shows human speech generates droplets that linger in the air fo...

Denied in-person funerals, obituary pages become where we mourn from 2020-05-14T11:13:02

Plus, Wisconsin's Supreme Court strikes down the governor’s stay-at-home order. And the sidelined federal vaccine chief will testify today that we’re headed for"the darkest winter in modern history."

Countries that eased lockdowns are reimposing them, offering a cautionary tale for U.S. states from 2020-05-13T12:27:11

Plus, President Trump's lawyer claims he has absolute immunity from being investigated, and a federal judge puts a hold on the Justice Department's move to throw out Michael Flynn's guilty plea.

'America First' approach to coronavirus vaccine development could leave U.S. behind from 2020-05-12T11:32:52

Plus, the White House implements a stringent mask policy, but President Trump still won’t wear one. And after years of struggles amid Trump's trade wars, farmers and ranchers face their worst crisi...

Covid-19 begins as a respiratory virus but kills as a cardiovascular virus, doctors warn from 2020-05-11T11:30:04

Plus, President Trump’s top advisers say the unemployment rate could soon reach 25 percent, and Britain will quarantine all foreign travelers as part of its plan to unlock the lockdown.

People are dying in droves at their homes from the coronavirus because they’re afraid to get help from 2020-05-08T11:42:56

Plus, President Trump’s valet tests positive for the coronavirus, sparking fear in the West Wing, and, as the Trump administration pushes remdesivir, an unequal rollout angers doctors.

Antibody treatments could be a bridge to a coronavirus vaccine. A llama provides a glimmer of hope. from 2020-05-07T11:52:55

Plus, Trump reverses course on the future of the coronavirus task force. And a woman in New York goes $600,000 into debt to buy protective equipment for medical workers.

Two whistleblower complaints paint a portrait of Trump’s politicized coronavirus response from 2020-05-06T11:38:32

Plus, federal researchers hypothesize that the coronavirus has mutated to a more contagious strain, and more than 2 million Americans still don't have indoor plumbing.

America is poorly prepared for the approaching wave of mental health problems from 2020-05-05T11:31:14

Plus, the FDA steps up scrutiny of commercial antibody tests, and President Trump cheers on governors who are ignoring White House guidelines for safely reopening,

Normal steps being skipped in race for a coronavirus vaccine from 2020-05-04T11:21:23

Plus, the housing market faces its next crisis as May rent and mortgage payments come due, and a city in Oklahoma rescinds its order that people wear masks.

Trump is crafting retaliation against China over coronavirus from 2020-05-01T11:55:08

Plus, the government is racing to develop a vaccine that could be fielded nationwide by January, and hundreds of protesters, some carrying guns, flood Michigan's Capitol.

Some covid-19 patients abruptly crash in their second week and doctors aren't sure why from 2020-04-30T11:12:02

Plus, hopes rise for an experimental drug therapy to treat covid-19 patients. And 1 in 6 nursing homes acknowledge the contagion has infected residents or staff.

Coronavirus fatality rate may be less than 1 percent from 2020-04-29T11:34:03

Plus, President Trump orders meat plants to stay open, and West Point cadets are being forced to fly back to campus so they can watch Trump give a speech.

Top secret report warned Trump of coronavirus danger more than a dozen times in January and February from 2020-04-28T11:16:53

Plus, the CDC confirms six coronavirus symptoms that keep showing up over and over in patients, and schools are plotting how they’ll reopen in the fall.

African Americans bear the brunt of the coronavirus in rural, suburban and urban areas from 2020-04-27T11:26:39

Plus, Debbie Birx warns that social distancing will probably remain in place through the summer, and President Trump calls reports he might fire Alex Azar “fake news.”

Federal data shows heat and sunlight could slow coronavirus, but Trump goes further from 2020-04-24T11:31:36

Plus, lawmakers are already talking about the next stimulus bill as the House passes a $484 billion package. And farmers are throwing away tons of food, even as needy American families go hungry.

What the latest science tells us about the coronavirus from 2020-04-23T11:56:17

Plus, President Trump’s immigration order contains broad exceptions, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is using the contagion to consolidate power.

The coronavirus is killing kids. The numbers are low until it's your child. from 2020-04-22T12:05:07

Plus, the first coronavirus deaths in America occurred weeks earlier than previously thought, and the CDC director warns that the second wave of the contagion could be even more devastating.

EMTs look death in the eye all day, every day from 2020-04-21T11:43:25

Plus, President Trump says he will sign an order to temporarily suspend immigration, and South Korea’s government says it cannot confirm reports that Kim Jong Un is gravely ill.

Coronavirus causing unrest around the world, including ominous signs of much worse to come from 2020-04-20T11:46:35

Plus, President Trump says the federal government will do more to make swabs available for coronavirus testing, and pro-gun activists are using Facebook groups to push anti-quarantine protests.

There’s still no federal testing strategy, even as Trump issues guidelines to reopen economy from 2020-04-17T11:37:42

Plus, glitches are preventing stimulus checks from reaching millions of Americans, and virus outbreaks are closing meat processing plants.

Experts say a chaotic search for coronavirus treatments undermines efforts from 2020-04-16T11:50:22

Plus, survivors share what it’s like to be alive on the other side of the coronavirus, and as humans stay indoors, wild animals take back what was once theirs.

Leaked government planning memo lays out conditions for gradual reopening of the country from 2020-04-15T11:17:45

Plus, coronavirus checkpoints targeting out-of-state residents draw growing legal scrutiny, and more than 9,000 U.S. health-care workers have been infected with the contagion.

South Dakota becomes a hot spot after governor refuses to issue a stay-at-home order from 2020-04-14T11:21:39

Plus, school closures could severely stunt the development of millions of poor children, and the coronavirus ravages Little Italy in New York.

How the coronavirus tricks the body into betraying itself from 2020-04-13T10:57:31

Plus, demand from coronavirus patients is causing shortages of asthma drugs and sedatives, and experts inside the government say reopening the economy by May 1 may be unrealistic.

Hospitals are cutting staff amid the pandemic, and several areas fail a stress test from 2020-04-10T11:14:48

Plus, President Trump wants to reopen most of the country next month, and with Holy Week hushed by the pandemic, Pope Francis does social distancing his own way.

CDC case study of Chicago coronavirus outbreak shows how one person can set off a chain reaction from 2020-04-09T11:32:14

Plus, Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee after Bernie Sanders drops out of the race, and Democrats clash with President Trump over more money for small businesses.

The White House still has not settled on a national testing strategy from 2020-04-08T11:44:18

Plus, the acting navy secretary resigns, and the ventilator shortage pits New York hospitals against one another.

Revised models give reasons for hope, but reality is grim from 2020-04-07T11:51:02

Plus, the president’s embrace of hydroxychloroquine illustrates how he prioritizes anecdote over science, and Boris Johnson is getting oxygen in an ICU.

Coronavirus deaths are being underreported in America from 2020-04-06T11:28:54

Plus, Texas is going to begin screening drivers who enter the state from virus-stricken Louisiana, and Scotland’s chief medical officer resigned last night for violating her own guidance to stay home.

The Navy shoots the messenger, as coronavirus deaths in the U.S. top 1,000 in a single day from 2020-04-03T11:30:57

Plus, the coronavirus recession is shaping up to be the biggest blow to the U.S. economy since the Great Recession, and Italy and Spain report the number of coronavirus cases in their countries are...

The federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is already depleted from 2020-04-02T11:49:17

Plus, Florida finally issues a stay-at-home order, and Republicans are using the coronavirus crisis as cover to restrict women’s reproductive rights.

State officials wonder whether politics is playing a role in coronavirus resource allocation from 2020-04-01T11:38:33

Plus, some New York hospitals have stopped resuscitating coronavirus victims, and the United Nations says this pandemic is the single biggest challenge facing the globe since World War II.

Should we all be wearing masks? The CDC is considering the question. from 2020-03-31T11:52:13

Plus, states surge medical capacity to prepare for the influx of coronavirus victims, and more governors issue mandatory stay-at-home orders.

Trump extends social distancing guidelines until April 30 from 2020-03-30T11:42:58

Plus, a choir practice in Washington state turns fatal, and the virus collides with maid culture in Latin America.

New York becomes ground zero again – this time for the coronavirus pandemic from 2020-03-27T12:06:56

Plus, President Trump clashes with governors over relaxing restrictions, and medical workers are rushing to update their wills in case they don't survive the pandemic.

Our domestic health care system is stretching past the breaking point from 2020-03-26T11:47:09

Plus, soldiers around the world are being mobilized to enforce lockdowns, and more states order residents to stay home.

Prince Charles testing positive is a reminder that the coronavirus does not discriminate from 2020-03-25T11:54:14

Plus, India is on a nationwide three week lockdown, and the Senate and the White House finalized a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package.

Understanding why the coronavirus is so hard to beat from 2020-03-24T11:30:50

Plus, a deal on a stimulus package could be near, and President Trump wants to reopen the economy, even as public health officials object.

The infected talk about what it feels like to have coronavirus from 2020-03-23T11:46:03

Plus, the stimulus package to respond to the coronavirus hits a speed bump, and Sen. Rand Paul finds out he tested positive moments after swimming in the congressional pool.

Expect more than one spike in coronavirus deaths from 2020-03-20T10:58:04

Plus, the shortage of testing kits has amplified inequities in our health-care system, and rural areas of the country are likely to have the highest death rates.

The Trump ban on fetal tissue research is undermining the search for coronavirus treatments from 2020-03-19T11:39:17

Plus, Jared Kushner exerts control over the government's response to the pandemic, and President Trump gambles his reelection on what could be $2 trillion in bailouts.

Patchwork response and federal dysfunction complicate coronavirus response from 2020-03-18T11:41:27

Plus, Europe is closing its borders, and Joe Biden sweeps primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona.

Trump finally acknowledged the magnitude of the crisis from 2020-03-17T11:39:56