Carry Me Away: To Tokyo, Space, and All the Weddings

First up: We’ll break down this week’s big stories, from COVID cases at the Olympics to chip shortages and Jeff Bezos’ big adventure. Next: COVID cases are soaring again in the U.S. – that is, among the unvaccinated. We’ll talk to a researcher about the factors that have (and haven’t) made hesitant Americans change their minds about the vaccine in recent months. If you want to check out the full study, you can find it here.  Also: What does “back to normal” even look like? We’ll ask one journalist who’s been tracking how far away 50 countries are from pre-pandemic life. Plus: Trying to fit two years worth of weddings into a single Wedding Season is crushing our meticulous budgeting skills. We’ll talk to an expert on how we can stay on track with all the wedding gifts we have to buy. Finally: We’re not seeing ghosts, but we’re hearing them. A new doc featured some deep-faked voice AI to mimic late chef Anthony Bourdain’s voice. Can that ever be ethical? On this episode, you’ll hear from:  Ashley Kirzinger, associate director for public opinion and survey research, Kaiser Family Foundation James Fransham, data journalist, The Economist Bola Sokunbi, founder, Clever Girl Finance Karen Hao, senior AI editor, MIT Technology Review Want more Skimm?  Sign up for our free daily newsletter Email us your questions about what’s going on in the news right now  Subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts Skimm'd by Alex Carr, Luke Vargas, and Ciara Long. Engineered by Andrew Callaway. TheSkimm’s head of audio is Graelyn Brashear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices