Beyond Politics: Donald McNeil, former NYT lead Covid reporter, on the future of Covid in 2022

As we enter 2022, the biggest question on everyone’s minds – the biggest question in the world – is what will happen with Covid, especially as we deal with the Omicron wave which is continuing to lead to record numbers of cases. So we wanted to check in with one of our favorite guests, Donald G. McNeil Jr. Throughout the pandemic, for millions of readers and podcast listeners in the US and around the world, Donald has been one of the most trusted, thoughtful, and clear explainers on the science of the coronavirus and public health measures to control it.

He was the lead reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic for the New York Times in 2020 and since leaving the Times, he’s continued to write and explain the science of Covid to the public. He recently wrote an article titled “Oh, Great. Now I’ve Got Covid.” Donald joins us to explain what happened, why he went with the British approach to quarantining instead of the CDC approach (and what Dr. Anthony Fauci told him about it), and what seems most likely to happen with Covid in 2022 (and why that might be better than you think).