Podcasts I'm listening to during the pandemic
Today's Managing Health Care Costs Number is 100
A beaver does a swim-by in Carlisle, MA
This weekend marked the hundredth day of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and it's been hard for many of us to concentrate on just about anything else. The pandemic has upended our school, our work, and our lives - and many have lost parents, spouses and loved ones.
Governmental responses to the pandemic have been awful, and that's been bipartisan. The Trump Administration declaration of victory (as a new surge overtakes two dozen states) is reprehensible. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo might have appeared resolute and determined in his daily news conferences, but the New Yorker showed how he and New York City Mayor Bill DiBlasio wasted precious weeks and gave New Yorkers substantial bad advice. Jay Inslee of Washington did far better; he let the public health officials make the decisions and hold the press conferences.
One public health official, Bonnie Henry of British Columbia, spearheaded a successful response to tamp down the virus, and some are now selling mugs and tee shirts with her signature line, “Now is the time to be kind, be calm, and be safe”
I've been doing a lot of biking, often to a peaceful marshland with a beaver dam and lodge in Carlisle MA. One of the beavers did a quick swim for my wife and I Thursday morning - it made me happy all day.
I've also been listening to a lot of good podcasts - and will finally be rating them all over the next week. Among my favorites
Tradeoffs - from Dan Gorenstein and the University of Pennsylvania, converted from a bimonthly to a biweekly podcast, and has featured great pods on how a behavioral economist gets people in the neighborhood to wear masks, and how the pandemic make it harder for alcoholics and opioid addicts to maintain their treatment.
Prognosis- from Bloomberg News, is a daily that covers today's COVID news and then does an 8-10 minute in depth report. Last Wednesday's was about a measured conversation about antibody testing.
Freakonomicsis an old standby. Steven Dubner interviewed three college presidents about their Fall, 2020 plans in late May
I'm addicted to The Dailyfrom the New York Times. Michael Barbaro's conversations with reporter Donald McNeil have often been prescient; here's the latest one.
Kaiser Health News' What the Healthis an excellent half hour from especially insightful health reporters. I find myself often looking up their "extra credit" readings. Here's an article highlighted last week from Bloomberg News on why quick action to address a second wave of COVID-19 will save lives .
Podcast19from fivethirtyeight.com, the sports and politics data site. Their explanation of why the death count is almost certainly too low from mid-May is especially informative
Hope you and yours are safe and staying sane.