About this episode
<p>A measles outbreak in West Texas has claimed two lives, and President Trump’s secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is spreading false claims about the disease and the vaccines that nearly eliminated it. In this episode of “The Opinions,” a Times Opinion editor, Alexandra Sifferlin, and an Opinion writer, Jessica Grose, discuss how the successes and failures of our modern health care system brought us to this moment and the Make America Healthy Again movement. We have eliminated “so many things that used to kill so many people that people have forgotten how dangerous those things are,” Grose says.</p><p>Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com</p><p>You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Opinions” at nytimes.com/column/the-opinions.</p><p>This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Vishakha Darbha. Edited by Alison Bruzek. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Original music by Carole Sabouraud, Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. The show’s production team also includes Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The Director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Measles, MAHA Moms and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from The Opinions gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- The Spectacle of Trump at 80 Jun 13, 2026
- The A.I. Bubble Is Coming for Your Retirement Account Jun 10, 2026
- Graham Platner and the Rise of the ‘Dirtbag’ Democrat Jun 6, 2026
- Why No Kings Isn’t Working Jun 3, 2026
- Sorry, Republicans, Trump Doesn’t Love You Back May 30, 2026
- America Has a Masculinity Crisis May 29, 2026
- Has Trump Gone Full ‘Mob Boss’? May 23, 2026
- MAHA Is No Longer Useful to Trump May 21, 2026
- What Silicon Valley Is Coming for Next May 20, 2026
- The Great Political Realignment of 2026 May 16, 2026
- How Strongmen Like Trump Get in Your Head May 14, 2026
- High Gas Prices Are Just the Beginning May 9, 2026
- Justice Neil Gorsuch on the ‘Miracle’ of Agreement on the Court May 6, 2026
- In a Small Iowa Town, a Solution to a National Crisis May 1, 2026
- Trump’s True Deal-Making Abilities, Revealed Apr 25, 2026
- ‘The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?’ Apr 22, 2026
- From Hungary to the Pope, the Right’s Very Bad Week Apr 18, 2026
- Older Women Are in Demand By Younger Men Apr 16, 2026
- Trump’s War of Choice Will Become a War of Regret Apr 11, 2026
- Did Wokeness Leave Us Worse Off? Apr 8, 2026
- Trump’s Relentless, ‘Utterly Incoherent’ Battles Apr 4, 2026
- What Do You Do When a Family Member Commits a Terrible Crime? Apr 2, 2026
- ‘We Are Going to Deeply Regret This War’ Mar 28, 2026
- ‘Everything After This Will Be Harder’: General Stanley McChrystal on Iran Mar 23, 2026
- Trump’s Recklessness Will ‘Haunt Us for a Generation’ Mar 21, 2026
- He’s Openly Antisemitic. Young Male Conservatives in Florida Love Him. Mar 18, 2026
- The Political Cost of Trump’s War Mar 14, 2026
- Why Voters Might Finally Blame Trump for Rising Costs Mar 11, 2026
- Was Tyra Banks the Villain? Or Were We? Mar 8, 2026
- One President’s Whim. A World in Crisis. Mar 7, 2026