Post Reports

Reflecting on the anniversary of the pandemic, from the eyes of a nurse on New York’s front lines.Read more: Jessica Montanaro thrives in a high-stakes, high-pressure world. As a nurse at an intensive care unit in New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Montanaro is accustomed to leaping into action when patients’ lives are at stake. And when the coronavirus hit the U.S., Montanaro, like so many health-care workers, found herself at the center of the chaos. One year after the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Montanaro reflects on her experiences caring for an influx of covid-19 patients and battling exhaustion and grief in her ICU. In this episode, producer Bishop Sand brings us into Montanaro’s world, as the virus drastically — and permanently — changed it.Nearly a year ago, Post Reports did another story about Mount Sinai as doctors and nurses braced themselves for the worst of the surge in New York City. Listen back to “A New York hospital transformed by the pandemic.

The search for the students who have gone missing during the pandemic. And, listeners share what has brought them joy this year. Read more:Many students have failed to show up for online school since classrooms closed one year ago. Even before the pandemic, districts had to track down children who had stopped showing up or failed to return for a new school year. But this year, such cases are happening in unprecedented numbers, forcing districts to employ extraordinary efforts to track down students, to ensure they are safe and have the resources to learn.Education reporter Moriah Balingit rode around Detroit with one of the many people tasked with tracking these missing students down. And March 11 marks one year since the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic. We wanted to know: What has brought you joy in the last year?

Jury selection for the trial of Derek Chauvin begins. And, tips for hunting vaccine appointments online. Read more:Proceedings have begun for the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd. National reporter Mark Berman talks about what to expect at the beginning of what will be a lengthy and highly contentious trial. Outside the Hennepin County courthouse, Joshua Lott describes what it’s like to photograph a city on edge.Check out The Post’s award-winning special report, George Floyd’s America. Also, tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler with tips for nabbing an appointment online for a vaccine. 

The CDC guidelines on what fully vaccinated people can — and can’t — do. What we can learn from Israel’s mass vaccination program. And, the risk of plummeting birth rates in France. Read more:New guidelines have emerged for fully vaccinated people in the United States. The Post’s Lena H. Sun walks us through what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday about what fully vaccinated people can now do safely. Israel has inoculated over half of the population. Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix reports on the country’s mass vaccination rollout — its successes and shortcomings.Early in the pandemic, many were predicting the extra time at home could lead to a baby boom. Foreign correspondent Rick Noack says that in France, at least, it’s been just the opposite: a sharp drop in birth rates since the pandemic started.

What’s in the coronavirus relief bill — and what’s not. The story of a Syrian spy. And the royal fallout from that Oprah interview. Read more:Economic policy reporter Rachel Siegel lays out what made it into the Senate’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, what didn’t, and how soon Americans could be receiving financial relief.Joby Warrick covers national security and weapons proliferation for The Post. In his latest book, “Red Line,” he looks at how a spy working for Syria’s chemical weapons program ended up delivering secrets to the CIA. Meghan and Harry sat down for a blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on CBS. The Post’s Jennifer Hassan reports that this isn’t the first time British royals or British tabloids have been accused of racism and sexism.

The future of voting rights — in state legislatures across the country and before the Supreme Court.Read more:In recent weeks, Republican state legislators across the country have been proposing and voting on a variety of voting restrictions. Politics reporter Amy Gardner examines the onslaught of legislation intended to limit mail-in ballots, early-voting periods and ballot boxes — and the motivations behind the proposals. On Tuesday, a key part of the Voting Rights Act was stress-tested before the Supreme Court. Gilda Daniels, a former deputy chief in the Justice Department and the author of “Uncounted: The Crisis of Voting Suppression in America,” breaks down the arguments before the court. 

How the conspiracy theories that fueled “Pizzagate” were a harbinger of QAnon. Texas in the aftermath of the devastating winter storms. And, a remembrance of Vernon Jordan.Read more:The “Pizzagate” gunman has been released from prison. After Edgar Maddison Welch entered a popular D.C. pizzeria and fired shots in December 2016, he told law enforcement that he had gone there to investigate a conspiracy theory. Reporter Mike Miller explains how Pizzagate signaled the deepening of violence linked to conspiracy theories that would later lead to the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6. The power is back on, but millions of Texans wonder what it will take to fully recover — and who will help them. National correspondent Arelis Hernández reports on the Lone Star State two weeks after the deadly winter storms led to a near-collapse of the state’s power grid. Robin Givhan on the legacy and life of Vernon Jordan, and how he made being a Black man in America look effortless.

Texas lifts its coronavirus measures requiring masks and allows businesses to reopen. President Biden’s first failed Cabinet nomination. And the building that reminds people of … the poop emoji.Read more:Politics reporter Philip Bump breaks down Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott’s decision to reopen the state’s businesses and lift its mask mandate — and why it’s not an opportune time to do it. White House reporter Seung Min Kim explains why Neera Tanden, President Biden’s controversial pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, withdrew her nomination after facing opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. The strangely shaped Helix is a distraction, art and architecture critic Phillip Kennicott writes. There’s a lot more to Amazon’s new D.C.-area headquarters than meets the eye.

Generation Z is breaking with binary notions of gender and sexuality. And, how the first season of “The Bachelor” to feature a Black man has only highlighted the show’s racism problem.    Read more:Recent surveys show that a growing percentage of the U.S. population identifies as LGBT. What’s less clear is why. Is it because of a real shift in sexual orientation and gender identity? Or is it because of a greater willingness among young people to identify as LGBT? Samantha Schmidt reports. The “Bachelor” franchise is facing a public reckoning after revelations about a contestant’s racist past. Style reporter Emily Yahr and Vulture writer Ali Barthwell explain what happened, and what this episode can tell us about Bachelor Nation and reality television as a whole.The pandemic has been dragging on for almost a year now, and we want to hear from listeners about how you’re coping. Record a voice memo telling us who you are, where you live and what you’ve been doing in the past year to find joy. Send it to postreports@washpost.com.

The U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is finally released. And, how Donald Trump took a wrecking ball to U.S. relations in the Mideast, and whether President Biden will be able to recalibrate foreign policy in the region.Read more:The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved the operation that led to the death of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi. National security reporter Karen DeYoung explains what we know from the long-awaited intelligence report. Foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor discusses the Mideast problems piling up for Biden, and whether the new administration will be able to accomplish its ambitious agenda in the region. “After four years of what's been perceived as kind of wrecking-ball diplomacy by Trump when it comes to the Middle East, it's a pretty thorny set of challenges that await President Biden, having to both think through what these challenges mean for his American interests, but also having to undo some of the work that Trump did,” Tharoor says.The pandemic has been dragging on for almost a year now, and we want to hear from listeners about how you’re coping. Record a voice memo telling us who you are, where you live and what you’ve been doing in the last year to find joy. Send it to postreports@washpost.com.