halftheanswer

Half the Answer #29: The American Anti-Vaxx Movement: Past, Present, and Future

Caitlin M. Green, Trent R. Nelson, Steven Monacelli

24 Aug 2025 — 1 min read

Trent and Caitlin ask Steven Monacelli about his recent work documenting the history and present of the American anti-vaccination movement. Who is drawn into it? How did we get here? What happens now that representatives of anti-vaccine beliefs now have the power to cut off the funds and regulatory processes that allow us to access immunization and disease management?

Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its RSS feed.

Resources:

Podcast: "Anti-Vax America" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/anti-vax-america-viral-texas-281085170/

Steven Monacelli on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.social

Pox by Michael Willrich https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/298913/pox-by-michael-willrich/

RFK Jr. on experts, free speech https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/rfk-jr-in-interview-with-scripps-news-trusting-the-experts-is-not-science

CDC shooting https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/gunman-cdc-shooting-vaccines.html

mRNA research defunded https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/08/06/nx-s1-5493544/rfk-defunding-mrna-vaccine-research

H1N1 research canceled https://www.npr.org/2025/05/28/nx-s1-5414642/trump-vaccine-bird-flu-mrna

RFK Jr. is executing Trump’s vision https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/9/how-rfk-jrs-vaccine-funding-cuts-fit-with-trumps-vision

Read more

Zohran's 5-Step YIMBY Playbook to Fix New York's Housing Crisis

Zohran's 5-Step YIMBY Playbook to Fix New York's Housing Crisis

Mamdani made housing affordability and transit the centerpiece of his campaign. Here's everything he could do as mayor to move the needle.

Neon Liberalism #40: The Ongoing Immigration Crisis

Neon Liberalism #40: The Ongoing Immigration Crisis

Join Samantha and guest Dara Lind, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council and former immigration reporter for Vox and ProPublica, as they talk the state of Trump's mass deportation program, the question of its constitutionality, and the bigger question of how immigration in America became such a

Age Limits for Politicians

Age Limits for Politicians

It is no longer tenable to pretend that gerontocracy isn’t a real problem. The American people overwhelmingly agree.

Half the Answer #28: Are We Liberated Yet?

Half the Answer #28: Are We Liberated Yet?

Trent and Caitlin chat with James Palmer about China, the current state of America's relationship with China, and what it means for the U.S. to be constantly proposing wild tariff hikes, changing and pausing those hikes, and effectively withdrawing from international trade. Half the Answer can be