In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman is joined by associate editor for health and medicine Lauren J. Young to unpack the growing unrest at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the departure of the agency’s director Susan Monarez. As criticism mounts against Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—i ... Show More
Sep 16
Unexplainable: What happened before the big bang?
In this special crossover episode, Science Quickly shares an appearance by host Rachel Feltman on Vox’s Unexplainable. Together with host Noam Hassenfeld, she explores Scientific American’s special issue on impossible questions, diving into some of science’s biggest mysteries, fr ... Show More
26m 14s
Feb 2025
Tuberculosis Outbreak, RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings and Polar Bear Hair
This week we’re recapping Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s confirmation hearings. Highly pathogenic H5N9, a strain of bird flu, was found in U.S. poultry. A tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas is making headlines—but how severe is the spread? Health equity reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga ... Show More
11m 44s
Sep 2025
'If You Can Keep It': HHS Versus The Science
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a seismic shakeup inside the Department of Health and Human Services and unprecedented discord between the agency, scientists, and doctors.HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. is bucking the science-backed guidance of physicians on vaccines. That’s anger ... Show More
43m 30s
Sep 2025
The Fired C.D.C. Director Testifies
<p>For weeks, fights have been escalating between top scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., culminating in his accusation that the agency’s top official, Dr. Susan Monarez, was untrustworthy.</p><p>Dr. Monare ... Show More
29m 11s
Aug 2025
The C.D.C.’s Vaccine Chief on Why Quitting Was His Only Option
<p>Over the past 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been plunged into turmoil.</p><p>Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to fire the agency’s director, Susan Monarez, igniting a standoff that prompted three other senior officials to resign. ... Show More
29m 19s
Oct 2025
Nobel Prizes, COVID Vaccine Updates and Malnutrition in Gaza
This week on Science Quickly, we break down the 2025 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine, Physics and Chemistry. We also unpack the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s shifting COVID vaccine guidance, a controversial call to split the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ... Show More
8m 40s