The US Economy Can’t Restart Without More Child Care Options (0:31)

Guest: Carrie Lukas, President, Independent Women’s Forum

State and local officials across the country are eager to get people back to work, to get the economy up and running. But most schools will not reopen until at least next fall. How will parents go back to work if their kids aren’t in school? Or if the summer camps and daycare programs they rely on are slow to open and have to admit fewer children because of social distancing requirements?

Why Closing Wet Markets Could Be a Big Mistake (17:08)

Guest: Lyle Fearnley, Anthropology Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Scientists believe COVID-19 may have originated from bats sold in a Chinese wet market. It’s still uncertain, but many have called for the closure of these markets, including prominent US coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci. But other experts like Lyle Fearnley say closing wet markets would not only be extremely difficult, but also a mistake with far-reaching consequences.

Why Are So Many Elderly People Generous? (32:28)

Guest: Ulrich Mayr, Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon. 

Most of the Americans who’ve died from COVID-19 were over the age of 65. We’ve known for months that this disease is especially deadly to older Americans, and that’s prompted some interesting debate about how much the US economy ought to suffer in order to save the lives of senior citizens. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick – who is 70 years old – fanned the flames of this debate with an appearance on Fox News in late March. Whether or not it’s moral to ask older Americans to risk death for the sake of the economy, the fact is that older people are more generous in general.

Studying Whale Sharks With Help From Atomic Bomb Fallout (50:40)

Guest: Joyce Ong, Fish Biologist, Postdoctoral Researcher, Rutgers University

The whale shark is the largest fish in the sea – it can grow to be nearly as long as a semi-trailer. And they’re endangered, but scientists aren’t entirely sure how to help, because, until now, we haven’t known how long whale sharks live.

Criminals vs. The Corona Virus (1:04:40)

Guest: Greg Phillips, PhD Candidate, San Diego and Herb York Dissertation Fellow With the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California

Criminal gangs in Brazil, El Salvador and Mexico have been enforcing pandemic curfews. The Taliban, Hezbollah and al Qaeda affiliates are behaving like public health agencies in areas they control – providing COVID-19 testing, educating people about handwashing, distributing food. What kind of upside-down world is this where the bad guys are acting like the good guys?

Movies to Cope With Cabin Fever (1:20:15)

Guest: Kirsten Hawkes, ParentPreviews.com

So many spring breaks and vacation plans cancelled because of the pandemic. So many of us feeling cooped up. To save us from cabin fever, Kirsten Hawkes of ParentPreviews.com offers a list of movies great for a mental escape: Muppet Treasure Island; Up; The Man from Snowy River; Ford v. Ferrari.