The Atlantic calls Amy Coney Barrett a “luminary” of the conservative legal movement and traces her rise to the Federalist Society, which has had a major influence on federal judge selection during Republican administrations. Stat and BuzzFeed provide some context to two recently paused COVID-19-related clinical trials — and explain why these pauses indicate the system is working. The Washington Post‘s Voices From the Pandemic series features the story of Tony Green, who thought COVID-19 was overblown until he got sick and lost a close family member to the virus. CNN explains why voters are often not allowed to wear clothes that contain political messaging when they go to the polls.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.