In some grocery stores around the country we are again seeing empty shelves. Some of the reasons remain the same as early in the pandemic, others have changed slightly. The Omicron surge coupled with labor shortages is making it difficult to keep things stocked. Supply chain issues in other countries are affecting us, and more people are eating at home. Laura Reiley, business of food reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for what to know.

Next, the head of human resources at your place of work could be some of the most important people as we face constantly changing guidelines when it comes to the pandemic. They are key figures in setting new policy on mask wearing, testing and vaccine mandates and have had to quickly become experts on public health. Emma Goldberg, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for all the new complexity brought to the world of H.R.

Finally, there are a lot of unexpected ways that children change their parents. There is a growing body of research that shows that a child’s behavior has a much stronger influence on their parents’ behavior than the other way around. It is a phenomenon called bidirectional parenting. Melissa Hogenboom, science journalist at the BBC and author of The Motherhood Complex, joins us for more.