On this episode of Unlocked, Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs talks with Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about how vaccines get from the research lab to the doctor’s office and the federal policies and practices that

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly publishes a suite of reports and datasets that businesses, journalists, government agencies and the public use to understand the health of the U.S. economy. The monthly Employment Situation — sometimes called the jobs report — is one of the most widely covered. Specifically, reporters widely cover the preliminary estimates of job gains or losses

The Trump administration’s efforts to influence U.S. medical practice have drawn new attention to the United States Preventive Services Task Force. Little known by the public, the USPSTF plays an important role in U.S. primary care and health insurance coverage, evaluating a broad body of scientific research to make evidence-based recommendations about ways to prevent

On this episode of Unlocked, host Nancy Gibbs talks with Juliette Kayyem, former Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama, about the legal complexities surrounding immigration enforcement in the United States. From detention and deportation procedures to what happens at the border, Kayyem breaks down the rights afforded

On this episode of Unlocked, Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs talks with Justin Mankin, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at Dartmouth College, about the impacts of government-collected climate data. They discuss the history and vital importance of publicly funded data collection, the growing risk of privatization, and what it means for access to

On this episode of Unlocked, Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs talks with Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice in the Harvard University Department of Economics and at the Harvard Kennedy School, about the federal debt—who the U.S. owes money to, why it matters, and what the implications of rising debt are for state and local

The Journalist’s Resource’s Clark Merrefield put together a new explainer for reporters covering the potential funding cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The explainer highlights important background information and research, and provides answers to the following questions: How much does the federal government spend on SNAP? How do states contribute funding to SNAP

Medicaid was signed into law in 1965 as a health insurance program for low-income people. As of November 2024, nearly 72 million people were enrolled in Medicaid in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to medicaid.gov. Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government and provides health coverage to one in five