Sarah Gonzalez

After someone serves their prison time, pays their debt to society, they often face another round of actual debt. Fees can pile up, and often, the fees have nothing to do with the crime.

COVID-19 vaccines must be kept at low temperatures. And to move ampuls between freezers, specialists use dry ice. NPR explores whether the U.S. has enough of it to ensure smooth vaccine distribution.

Alcohol to go used to be sold at restaurants in party spots such as New Orleans and Las Vegas. But during the pandemic, restaurants all over the country have started offering takeout cocktails.

For decades, Democrats and Republicans competed to be toughest on crime. But that's changing. NPR's Planet Moneypodcast explores the changing views on prisons in Oklahoma.

The idea of vaccination is almost 2,000 years old. The story of the very first vaccine involves a nose pipe, milkmaids, death row inmates, and a beautiful woman out for revenge.

As a low-wage worker, Yesenia Ortiz wishes she would get paid more during the pandemic because of the extra level of risk to which she is exposed.

In a competitive labor market, employers would need to pay workers more money for riskier jobs. But now, essential workers are making as much money as they were before the pandemic.

Reopening the economy requires contemplating the trade-off between lives and money. Government agencies are already used to putting dollar values on human life when considering safety regulations.

The people who harvest food face two challenges right now: tighter border controls keeping many away from the fields, and cramped living quarters that make social distancing almost impossible.

For years, low wage workers have had to wait two weeks between paychecks, a long time. But technology and a tight labor market could be changing that.