Month: April 2021

President Biden wants to make a massive investment in infrastructure, and not just in roads and bridges. His administration is proposing big investments in “care infrastructure” — investments designed to help women succeed in the workforce.

Three women leading the administration’s effort speak to NPR: Janelle Jones, the chief economist at the Department of Labor; Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Jennifer Klein, co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council.

Additional reporting this episode on women and the workforce from NPR’s Scott Horsley and Melissa Block. Hannah Rosin spoke to NPR’s Michel Martin.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

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“To Asian women, not for—there’s no speaking for us, splendidly vast and manifold as our people are.” So writes Korean-American novelist R.O. Kwon in an essay in Vanity Fair. The essay explores the reasons that R.O. was unable to talk openly with her own mother about rising anti-Asian rhetoric and violence in the past year, and how she finally broke that silence. In this episode, Rough Translation producer Justine Yan talks with R.O. about what the essay meant to her, and how to break familiar silences surrounding Asian American communities.

This week Arkansas became the first state to outlaw gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, as the state legislature overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson tells NPR why he opposed the bill, which will become law later this summer.

Dr. Joshua Safer, the executive director at Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, explains why gender-affirming therapies — such as puberty blockers or hormone treatment — are safe and healthy for trans youth.

Misconceptions about trans people can be shaped by who tells their stories. Three trans journalists weigh in on how that should be done:

Imara Jones is the creator of TransLash Media.
Kate Sosin is a reporter at The 19th.
Orion Rummler is a reporter at Axios.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

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The details in President Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan have a lot to do with protecting the environment. There’s a new clean electricity standard and a focus on low-income communities hit hardest by climate change. But will it be enough?

NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben reports on how some progressives in congress wished Biden’s plan was more ambitious. While many republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, see it as an overreach and have vowed to fight it.

Dr. Leah Stokes, a professor in the department of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says that she’d favor a quicker timeline but still thinks Biden’s plan will go a long way for curbing the effects of climate change.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mixed messaging on travel reveals the uncertain future of the pandemic, Dr. Monica Gandhi tells NPR. Gandhi is an infectious disease expert at the University of California San Francisco.

In the future, some travelers may be required to verify their vaccine status to enter a stadium or attend a wedding. Dr. Zeke Emanuel, a professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and former member of President Biden’s Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, tells NPR so-called vaccine “passports” can be made secure and private.

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Home prices are soaring around the U.S. Amid low inventory and historically low interest rates, some buyers are hitting the market to find they can’t compete with all-cash offers, or bidding wars that escalate well out of their price range.

Sean Hawksford in Bozeman, Mont., is one of those buyers. He told his story to NPR’s daily economic podcast, The Indicator.

NPR’s Chris Arnold explains why the market is so wild right now.

And while homebuying is a big financial decision, it’s also an emotional one. Those emotions are on full display in a new Netflix show called Marriage or Mortgage. Michelle Singletary, a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post explores what the show reveals about the homebuying process, and why — in more ways than one — it’s not for everyone. Here’s her recent column about the show.

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Two Easters have now come and gone since the pandemic began, and the need for restrictions has not gone away. It has faith communities wondering when things will get back to normal. NPR’s Lee Hale reports on how faith leaders have approached worship differently since the pandemic began.

Bills under consideration in dozens of states target trans youth by focusing on two things: health care and sports. Some bills have already become law in states including South Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama.

One of the harshest measures is an Alabama, where a bill would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming therapy to anyone under the age of 19. NPR’s Melissa Block reports on what that would mean for one trans teenager and his family.

University of Pittsburgh professor Jules Gill-Peterson explains what she’s uncovered about the history of trans youth in America. She is the author of Histories of the Transgender Child.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

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The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is giving us all hope that we’ll be back to some sense of normal soon, but the pandemic will likely still play a role in what college life looks like next fall.

We asked some high school seniors what questions they have about deciding where to go to school and what college life is like during a pandemic.

To help with answering those questions and sharing some advice, we hear from two current college freshmen, Ayiana Davis Polen at Spelman College in Atlanta and Adam Ahmad at the University of California, Berkeley, and NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

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Scientists are growing concerned the U.S. may be headed for a fourth wave. COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly, mirroring an increase in many countries around the world.

Harvard epidemiologist Bill Hanage tells NPR he’s worried another surge in the U.S. will fuel the spread of the variant known as B.1.1.7.

In the meantime, there’s new evidence that vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are effective at preventing viral spread — and that they produce “robust” antibody response in children ages 12-15. NPR’s Joe Palca has more.

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