Pandemic Spurs Push to Solve Generic Drug Shortages (0:30)

Guest: Martin VanTrieste, President and CEO, Civica RX

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a problem that US hospitals have been facing for years: periodically, they run out of basic injectable drugs for treating critically-ill patients, things like sedatives and antibiotics. And when they run out, they run out. There’s none to be had and nowhere to get them because the drugs are generic and the key components are almost all made in other countries, like India. If the one plant that makes the drug’s active ingredient goes down for some reason, poof, there goes the global supply of that drug. So last week, the US Department of Health and Human services made a huge – historically huge – grant to a group of companies and nonprofits to start manufacturing those critical generic drugs here in the US.

 

Capturing the Sound of Religion (17:47)

Guest: Isaac Weiner, Associate Professor of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University and Co-Director of the American Religious Sounds Project; Amy DeRogatis, Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State and Co-Director of ARSP.

Churches are beginning to reopen around the country. But what will that worship be like, if masks and social distancing are required? What about the hugs and handshakes and congregational singing that are so much a part of church? During the isolation of this pandemic, religious experience has looked different. Felt different. Sounded different. Catholics in Milwaukee banged pots and pans along with the ringing of church bells on Easter Sunday. The American Religious Sounds Project has been tracking the sound of religion during the pandemic.

 

Sand Is an Important Resource and We Are Running Out of It (34:11)

Guest: Vince Beiser, Journalist and Author of "The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization"

Sand isn’t just a nuisance in your sandals and swimsuit. It’s a critical ingredient in your life. Just take a look around you. Roads, sidewalks, buildings, windows – all require sand. So does your phone and computer. So that’s surprising to realize. But an even bigger surprise, for me, is the fact that the world is running out of sand. How can that be possible?

 

How Video Games Can Help Prepare for and Respond to Disasters (50:39)

Guest: Heide Lukosch, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Immersive Gaming, University of Canterbury

100,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States and that number is projected to exceed 110,000 by mid-June. That forecast is based on statistical models using lots of different data like past infection rates and demographics. But fundamentally, those models can only guess how humans will behave in a pandemic – will they stay home? Will they social distance? Video games could help take out some of the guesswork.

 

Releasing Captive-Born Monarch Butterflies Could Be Really Bad (1:06:25)

Guest: Andy Davis, Assistant Research Scientist, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia

Monarch butterflies are struggling – fewer and fewer are making it to the end of their yearly migration. And it’s really worrying conservationists. Many enthusiasts have rallied to save the beautiful orange and black butterfly by breeding their own and releasing them into the wild. This may sound like a great way to help boost population numbers, but it could actually be more harmful than helpful. Ecology professor Andy Davis has found that monarchs raised in captivity fare worse than those born in the wild.

 

How Do We Care for Healthcare Workers? (1:24:25)

Guest: Cheedy Jaja, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina   

The doctors, nurses and EMTs on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are among those most at-risk for catching the virus. They’re also at high risk of psychological trauma, says nurse and psychiatric care provider Cheedy Jaja. He’s a professor of nursing at the University of South Carolina and a former frontline healthcare worker during the Ebola crisis in West Africa.