Post Reports

What Joe Biden’s nominees and appointments can tell us about the incoming president’s administration. And, the former head of the CDC on what it will take to get coronavirus vaccines to the masses.Read more:National political reporter Annie Linskey on President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks — including economist Janet Yellen as the first female treasury secretary and an all-female communications team.Moderna is moving closer to getting the green light for its coronavirus vaccine. But as former CDC director Tom Frieden says, “It’s not vaccines that save lives — it’s vaccination programs.”

Education reporter Laura Meckler explores the impact of distance learning on young kids’ emotional health and behavior — and what families and caretakers can do to help make a difficult situation better. Read more:In March, school campuses across the United States began to shutter, forcing a nation of students home to pivot — seemingly overnight — to online learning. But left in the lurch are children, especially young children. After many districts decided to stay online during the fall semester, The Washington Post asked listeners and readers to send a recording of what it’s been like to continue school from home. “We heard back from a lot of kids, and what we heard was sort of a few themes over and over again,” says education reporter Laura Meckler. On today’s show, Meckler explores the enormous behavioral, physical and emotional toll that online learning has had so far. She speaks with 2020 teacher of the year Tabatha Rosproy and child psychiatrist Matthew Biel about what parents can do to get them, and their children, through Zoom school. Alexis Diao produced this episode, and reporter Hannah Natanson contributed reporting. You can read some of those submissions and view artwork by children about distance learning here.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Juggling careers and kids was already a struggle for millions of women in America. Then the pandemic hit. Ellen McCarthy reports on why working moms are leaving the labor force in droves – and what that could mean for the future of our country.Read more:When they met as students in Chicago, Vondetta Taylor and Jennifer Anderson were all aspiration. Taylor was training to be a chef. Anderson was working toward a career in broadcasting. And they both dreamed of starting their own families one day.Careers and kids didn’t seem like too much to hope for or too much to handle back then. Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, Taylor and Anderson were part of a generation of young women raised with the expectation that they could have it all, and that they should have it all.But when the pandemic hit and their kids were sent home from school, their circumstances soured. And as Ellen McCarthy and Amy Joyce reported, the two friends became part of a legion of women who had no choice but to leave the labor force. “I had made a decision that I was no longer going to beat myself up about what type of interaction that I needed to have with my son, which would cause whatever type of performance for my job,” Taylor said. “I chose my son over my job.”Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Health reporter William Wan examines one of the unseen effects of the pandemic on people’s lives — the emotional and psychological toll of all that’s happened.Read more:Almost a year into a pandemic, we’re all aware of what the coronavirus can do to our bodies. More than 250,000 Americans have died. Millions of people around the world are sick.But there are other, non-physical effects, too — the emotional and psychological toll of isolation, constant fear and loss, especially on young adults. That’s what Ted Robbins wants you to understand:“What they told me was: ‘You as a parent don’t realize how bad it is for the youth today. You don’t realize how many of Christian’s friends have contemplated suicide. You don’t realize how depressed we are. You don’t realize how hard this is.’ ”Months after the loss of his son to suicide, Robbins spoke with health reporter William Wan and producer Rennie Svirnovskiy about the conversations we’re still not having about mental health — and about the changes we’ll need to make if we’re going to get through this pandemic.“I can’t bring Christian back,” Robbins said. “No matter how much I want to or I try, I can’t bring him back. But what I can do is try to save other children.”If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK, or 800-273-8255. You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Will anyone stop the president’s attempts to overturn the election? Revisiting the iconic album documenting John Lennon’s last years. And, where tourists go for fake coronavirus test results.Read more:With most legal options exhausted, President Trump is now using the power of his office to overturn the election by claiming baseless allegations of voter fraud. White House bureau chief Philip Rucker reports on the president’s attempt to stay in office.National arts reporter Geoff Edgers revisits John Lennon’s last album on the 40th anniversary of its release.Fake coronavirus test results are hitting the black market. Shannon McMahon discusses the tourists paying top dollar for them. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

The votes have been (mostly) counted, and though Joe Biden is clearly the president-elect, there are still more steps and potential obstacles for that to become official. Plus, why more men are dying of covid-19. Read more:This week in Wayne County in Michigan, a drama has been unfolding over a procedural step that happens in every election: the certification of the vote. Trevor Potter of the Campaign Legal Center explains the process for Joe Biden to officially become the president -- and what could still go wrong between now and Jan. 20.Ben Guarino is a reporter covering the practice and culture of science for The Post. He joins the show to talk about how more men are dying from the coronavirus compared with women — a global problem that’s now prevalent in the United States.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

A look at how key groups voted in this election: from Latinos in Texas and the women who went for President Trump to the Black voters who pushed President-elect Joe Biden across the finish line. Read more:Democrats lost ground with swing Latino voters in key states such as Florida and Texas. In the Rio Grande Valley, national reporter Arelis Hernandez says, the surprising support for Trump underscores the need for Democrats to cultivate deeper relationships with a diverse Latino population.White women were expected to vote overwhelmingly for Biden. That did not happen. Gender reporter Samantha Schmidt explains how party, not gender, is a stronger force in presidential politics today. National reporter Vanessa Williams on how Black voters saved Joe Biden’s campaign, again. Read The Post’s exit poll analysis here. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

How Republicans are using election wins to justify their approach to the pandemic. The CDC’s latest on why you should wear a mask. And, the coronavirus response in Africa. Read more:GOP leaders flouted warnings from public health officials early on. National political reporter Griff Witte explains how Republicans are now pointing to election wins to justify their approach to the pandemic. Coronavirus cases are reaching record highs in the United States. “Every two seconds we get another case. Every minute we get another death,” says health reporter Lena Sun. Sun explains the latest science from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on masks, and why they work. African countries have been largely successful in their response to the pandemic. Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah shares why that shouldn’t be surprising. Subscribe to The Washington Post: postreports.com/offer

With protections expiring and no stimulus deal in sight, Americans could be heading for even more economic pain. The national security costs of delaying the transition. And the promise of at-home coronavirus testing.Read more:Could we get another stimulus package during the lame-duck period? Jeff Stein reports on the political forces at work, and the potential costs of doing nothing. Experts are concerned that President Trump’s unwillingness to start a transition threatens the security of our country. Shane Harris explained the risks on The Post’s “Can He Do That?” podcast.Home tests could help in the fight against the coronavirus. So where are they? William Wan reports. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

The Midwest emerges as the latest hot spot for coronavirus, as daily cases across the U.S. breaks records. And the Democrats’ last hope to take control of the Senate comes down to Georgia.Read more:Coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S. Reporters Annie Gowen and William Wan take a look at where the cases are rising and why.Senior congressional correspondent and columnist Paul Kane joins the show to talk about the Democrats’ last hope to take the Senate in Georgia.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer