COVID-19 Affects People Regardless of Their Politics. So Why Is the Pandemic Response to Politicized? (0:35)

Guest: Michael Barber, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University

It’s an election year. And Americans were already polarized politically before the pandemic, so I guess it’s not surprising that politics affects how people are reacting to the pandemic. But still. The virus affects people regardless of how they vote. Why do I feel like wearing a face covering in public is being perceived as a political statement?

Take a Virtual Trip to the Faroe Islands (20:26)

Guest: Levi Hanssen, Content & Communications Manager at Visit Faroe Islands

With no tourists coming in due to COVID-19, a lot of places have really taken a financial hit. But the Faroe Islands have come up with a unique way for people to still visit – virtual tourism. It’s basically a real-life video game – you get to control the movements of an actual human in the Faroe Islands from your computer. You can even ask the tour guide to run and go inside buildings.

When People Vote by Mail, Who Wins? (36:00)

Guest: Dan Thompson, PhD Candidate, Political Science, Stanford University

The pandemic is prompting states to take a hard look at voting by mail for their primaries – and even possibly for the general election in November. President Trump is not a fan. Voting by mail “does not work out well for Republicans,” says President Trump. He’s not the only one to think so. And it’s true that Democrats tend to be a lot more supportive of states shifting to mail-in voting. So, are they right? Do Democrats do better when voters have the option to mail in a ballot rather than showing up to the polls on Election Day? 

The Great Zoom Debacle (50:39)

Guest: Patrick Wardle, Principal Security Researcher at Jamf and Founder of Objective-See

If someone had told you just months ago that Zoom would soon become a household name, you probably would have said, “What? The video conferencing app?” Or you may not have known what it was at all. But with social distancing, the company gained 190 million new users from January to March. However, the increased traffic carries some serious security risks – even the FBI has put out a warning.

Everyone Knows Poop in the Pool Is Bad. But Pee Is Too. Here’s Why. (1:07:45)

Guest: Michele Hlavsa, Chief of the Healthy Swimming Program Division, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Will public swimming pools be able to open this summer? Or water parks? Chlorine kills everything so, maybe pools won’t be a casualty of the pandemic? Right?

Helping Players Develop Healthy Masculinity (1:20:00)

Guest: Kip Ioane, Head Coach of Willamette University’s Men’s Basketball Team.

College athletes watch a lot of film, but it’s usually video of past games and upcoming opponents so they can improve their play. The viewing schedule for the men’s basketball team at Willamette University also includes documentaries about masculinity – which is, unusual. Other NCAA teams have started implementing the program, too.