Gulf Coast Life

As millions of Americans lost their jobs and incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention issued an unprecedented moratorium on evictions. That moratorium is set to expire on December 31 if lawmakers in Congress do not extend it. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates as many as 19 million people in 6.7 million households are at risk of being evicted if they don’t.

During the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was happening at the same time as World War I, Americans were for the most part unified in their willingness to sacrifice for the common good. And this willingness to respond collectively continued during World War II. But, while public health officials have urged Americans to do their part to stem the spread of the coronavirus by doing things like avoiding large gatherings and wearing masks millions of people have refused. We explore what’s changed, and why, with the co-authors of a recent Washington Post op-ed called “Americans used to sacrifice for the public good. What happened?”

Americorps has been addressing issues and serving needs in the United States since 1965 when it was known as Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA. We speak with its current CEO Barbara Stewart about the many ways its members are helping people around the country today.

Over the summer the School District of Lee County developed a virtual learning model called Lee Home Connect. Students in the program would attend classes remotely in real time, following the normal school class schedules. Now, the district is encouraging almost three-quarters of those students — about 16,000 kids in all — to return to in-person learning for the second semester because they are not making adequate progress in their online classes.

Ever since the beginning of the modern concept of "science" there have been people who denied certain things despite evidence that they are true or factual. From evolution by natural selection to human-caused climate change, and more recently things like COVID-19 and mask effectiveness and vaccine safety, some people refuse to believe what scientists and researchers reach consensus on.

During normal times the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida was providing food for about 110,000 individuals every month. Right now they are serving more than a quarter million people a month, and have provided 25,073,464 meals since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Science fiction author and editor, Dr. Ben Bova, passed away on November 29, 2020 from COVID-19 related pneumonia and a stroke. Bova wrote more than 120 books of fiction and non-fiction, and was a six-time Hugo Award winner. He was editorial director of Omni Magazine, the editor of Analog Magazine, and he was president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America. We listen back to excerpts from his appearance on Gulf Coast Live on January 3, 2007.

Ladybird, Collected, is a collection of essays from a quirky diner in Lawrence, Kansas.

Simon Han's novel follows the Cheng family, recent immigrants to Texas from China.

We look back at the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and what factors were at play in making it so active, with Dr. Athena Masson, meteorologist with the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.