Short Wave Folgen

Health Correspondent Allison Aubrey updates us on the Biden Administration's goal to have 70 percent of U.S. adults vaccinated by the July 4. Plus, as vaccine makers plan for the possibility that COVID-19 vaccine boosters will be needed, they're pushing ahead with research into new-generation flu shots and mRNA cancer vaccines. Questions? Existential dread? Optimism? We'd love to hear it — write us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The anus is an evolutionary marvel. But how and when did this organ evolve into what it is today? Today on Short Wave, Maddie gets to the bottom of these questions with The Atlantic's science writer Katherine Wu. For more of Katherine's reporting, check out 'The Body's Most Embarrassing Organ Is an Evolutionary Marvel' from The Atlantic. If you have stories ideas or comments — email us at ShortWave@NPR.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nearly 1 billion people speak Mandarin Chinese. But Short Wave host Emily Kwong is not among them. As a third generation Chinese American, Emily's heritage language was lost through the years when her father, Christopher Kwong, stopped speaking the language at a young age in order to adjust to life in the U.S. Now, at age 30, Emily's trying to reclaim Chinese by attending virtual Mandarin classes for the first time. In conversation with her father, Emily explores how being 'Chinese enough' gets tied up in language fluency, and how language is a bridge that can be broken and rebuilt between generations — as an act of love and reclamation. Check out more of the Where We Come From series here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy