First up: The word of the week is definitely “Omicron.” We called up a doctor friend to break down what we do and don’t know about the new COVID-19 variant.

Next: We’ll get into this week’s other big headlines, from a school shooting in Michigan to a controversial new Twitter policy, and the start of Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial.

Then: The Supreme Court heard a major abortion case this week about Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks. We listened in on the hearing and asked an expert about how the Supremes might rule.

ICYMI: Barbados kicked out Queen Elizabeth II as head of state this week and honored … Rihanna that same evening? We’ll break down what happened in 60 seconds.

Finally: The Royal Family viewed through a horror lens. Thick Italian accents and fur coats. And two tennis stars’ intense training regimen. We’ll check in with Thrillist film critic Esther Zuckerman to hear about the three films we need to watch now.

On this episode, you’ll hear from: 

• Namandje N. Bumpus, director, department of pharmacology and molecular sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Tatum Hunter, personal technology reporter, The Washington Post
• Seema Mohapatra, visiting professor of law, Southern Methodist University School of Law
• Esther Zuckerman, senior entertainment writer, Thrillist 

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Skimm'd by Alex Carr, Luke Vargas, and Ciara Long. Engineered by Peter Bonaventure. TheSkimm’s head of audio is Graelyn Brashear.

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