TW: Police brutality & Racial Violence

In the final installment of the Corona Diaries, Jill and Julia look back on their favorite interviews and guests, and discuss all of the things they learned producing a podcast in the time of Covid-19. Jill looks back on her favorite episode, “Audio Storytelling in the Time of Corona,” and Julia discusses the powerful stories shared by interviewees working within their communities to combat the virus. We share some links and resources for donating funds or services to Corona relief efforts, and Jill shares information on where to donate for those who want to fight for justice for George Floyd and support the anti-police brutality demonstrations happening around the world.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected], and please donate to the following causes - even if it’s only a few euros it adds up!

Links to donate to Covid-19 relief:
Karuna: https://cms.karuna-ev.de/
Stadtmission: https://www.berliner-stadtmission.de/
Tafel: http://www.essener-tafel.de/ueber-uns/
Be an Angel: https://beanangel.direct/
Cooking for Heroes: https://kochen-fuer-helden.de/

Organizations working with Refugees who are at risk:
Leave No One Behind: https://seebruecke.org/leavenoonebehind/aktionen/
Seawatch: https://sea-watch.org/en/
Doctors Without Borders: https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/

Links to support demonstrators and the families of victims of police brutality/racial violence:
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Justice for Kenneth Walker: https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-representation-for-kenneth-walker
I Run With Maud: https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud
Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund: https://brooklynbailfund.org/
Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Unicorn Riot: https://unicornriot.ninja/
The Village in Oakland: https://thevillageinoakland.org/

In the final installment of our exploration of COVID-19 around the world, we head to Russia to find out how the transcontinental country is dealing with the pandemic.

Kira Tverskaya, the Social Media Manager at Echo of Moscow Radio, chats about how the public have responded to rules and regulations and Russia’s desire to avoid declaring a state of emergency. Kira also sheds light on the struggle that doctors in Russia are currently facing due to a lack of food and PPE, and how the complete lack of support of LGBTQ communities has been exacerbated by corona.

Learn more about the Mutual Help 24 project here: https://www.facebook.com/mutualhelp24

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

In this episode we speak to Monique Mortlock, a friend and journalist at eNCA, about how South Africa has been handling the current COVID-19 pandemic. Monique explains how her life as a field journalist and essential worker has been affected, and how her team is finding new ways to report. She highlights the successes and failures by the South African government to support its people in this time and sheds light on the intricacies of the ban on cigarette and alcohol sales in the country.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Our condolences go out to Monique as well as the family, friends and colleagues of eNCA camera man, Lungile Tom, who passed away on May 13 after testing positive for COVID-19. We would also like to thank ALL essential workers for the incredible work that they do on the front lines to keep us fed, healthy and informed.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

This episode takes us to India as we chat to Swarnima Bhattacharya, the founder of TheaCare, a platform that brings women’s health and women’s bodies to the fore by creating awareness, and fostering healthy conversations.

Swarnima sheds light on how India and its people are navigating the coronavirus. She explains how the class divide has affected citizens in lockdown, and how peer-support networks in poorer communities have been activated. She goes on to describe how the pandemic has highlighted the faultlines of gender based violence, power and sexualization in India. She also shares incredible stories of young women who are using their digital skills to spread awareness through TikTok and other apps.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories. Please support Swarnima and the incredible work she is doing by visiting https://thea.care and thea.care on Instagram.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

Neuroscientist, improvisor and friend, Nacho Sanguinetti, sheds light on what life is like for him, his family, and the people of Uruguay during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nacho explores the general atmosphere of the country, explaining how the positive mood can be potentially harmful, but how the government is successfully reaching communities outside of the capital of Montevideo. He goes on to share how corona is affecting his own work as a neuroscientist and how he has redirected his attention to helping fellow scientists analyze data coming out of South America.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Pakistan on the 26th of February, when a student in Karachi tested positive after returning from neighbouring Iran. For more on the situation in the South Asian country, we reach out to Saba Khalid, the founder of Aurat Raaj (https://www.auratraaj.co/), a social enterprise from Pakistan that creates interactive technology products and services to educate young girls on health, hygiene and safety.

Saba explains how corona has affected her own work and life, and how everything has pivoted towards educating communities on the virus. She goes on to share what social distancing measures have been put in place, and how vital women in underprivileged communities have been in spreading the word. Saba sheds light on the severe shortage of PPE and reliable hospitals in Pakistan, and highlights the effects that Ramadan may have and how the holy month could spell trouble.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

The Aurat Raaj children’s Coronavirus chatbot in Urdu can be found here: https://bit.ly/3cDMImw

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

In a bid to explore the effects of the Pandemic outside of Europe and the United States of America, in this series of episodes The Corona Diaries explores how African, Asian and South American countries are navigating corona.

In this episode we speak to Amy McConaghy, a journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya, about how the African country has responded to the outbreak. Amy explains the measures that the Kenyan government has implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 and gives insight into the reported Xenophobic attacks on Westerners. She also shares incredible stories of community-based efforts and reiterates how grassroots aid and community based education have been integral in managing the situation in informal settlements.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

For more on the brilliant efforts, by Kenyan artists and designers, to help their local communities through Corona, read Amy’s articles here: https://bit.ly/2XJKTjG and here: https://bit.ly/2RK0Dzy

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

Coronavirus has made life a little tougher for a lot of podcasters and audiophiles, who now find themselves managing teams remotely and recording in their closets. It has also awakened others to the value and necessity of audio storytelling.

Jonaki Mehta (https://twitter.com/jonakimehta), a Producer for All Things Considered (https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/), shares some of the challenges that have come with covering a pandemic, how they at ATC now source their stories and what they have done with all their pre-corona stories.

Rob Dozier (https://twitter.com/robardzr) the Producer of My Well Minute (https://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Times-Minute/dp/B084T6XLQG) by Smart Speaker, Alexa and the New York Times discusses the new factors he has had to consider now that they don’t have a studio. He speaks to the difficulties of guiding and producing for a host remotely and explains how their production schedule has changed.

Tim Howard (https://twitter.com/newtimhoward), the Executive Producer of Reply All (https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all), gives a look into how the team has adapted to remote working and social distancing, how they maintain morale, and the exhausting weight of dealing with a pandemic while still trying to work. Tim shares the importance of communication and connection as a team, both in and out of work, and the critical need to put your mental health first.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

While many countries and cities are in a state of lockdown or governed by curfews, German citizens have fortunately still been able to move around, albeit with restrictions.

These restrictions seem to be changing daily and the discussions around potential fines for breaking these rules have had many confused.

Fellow podcaster, Abby Ross of Berlin Briefing, a daily news podcast that translates German news into English, shares the latest on the fines, regulations and rules implemented by the state, as of 3 April 2020.

Abby gives clarity on whether German citizens need to carry identification and registration with them when they are out of their homes, if citizens are allowed to spend time in parks and public spaces and what these regulations mean for people visiting their partners. Additionally, she shares her own story of making masks for her neighbours and how acts of kindness in Berlin have inspired her to donate and help.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.

The novel coronavirus is unique, it’s dynamic, and new to us all. We’re receiving an onslaught of information everywhere from social media to policy makers and our community - and it’s all different!

We reached out to Jessica Rohmann, an Epidemiologist at the Institute for Public Health at Charité, to help clarify what this virus actually is, how it’s being navigated by medical professionals and how we as citizens can best help flatten the curve. Jess goes on to discuss the testing protocol that German hospitals and doctors have been advised to follow, how we have learnt from China, South Korea and Italy and how COVID-19 compares to other Pandemics. She also tells us why such stringent precautionary measures have been put in place and explains why simple things like staying at home and keeping a 1.5 meter distance from one another are vital.

You can find the coronavirus hotline that Jess mentioned here: https://www.berlin.de/corona/hotline/coronavirus-hotline-907408.en.php and the heath insurance hotline here: https://www.116117.de/de/coronavirus.php
This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [email protected] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donations in this episode will go to N95 masks for doctors, and donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.