America’s Public-Health Efforts Have Slowed to a Crawl
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Question of the Week
I need a week’s respite from heavy news, so it’s time for your hot takes: What do you love or hate about summer––nostalgic stories are very much allowed––and where does it rank among the seasons? (Extra credit if you conclude your message by nominating a best summer song.)
Send responses to conor@theatlantic.com.
Conversations of Note
Top of mind this week is public health, but don’t worry, dear reader: I’m not going to scold you, as so often happens when one hears those words––I’m going to scold America’s public-health officials, whose failures continue to compound in ways that suggest, at best, ongoing dysfunction.
The scope of failure is much bigger than the coronavirus pandemic, though that’s where we’ll begin. Over time,
