The Daily Dive

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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Numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the U.S. and more local governments are imposing stricter social distancing rules. The strongest clampdown is in the Bay Area which has advised people to shelter in place. Despite these rules, we continue to see many put and about. Erin Allday, health writer at the SF Chronicle, joins us for how its going a few days in and also how hospitals are prepping for a wave of coronavirus cases.

Next, even as the sports world has ground to a halt, there was some interesting football news regarding Tom Brady. We learned that he will play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this coming season. Brady will be 43 when the season starts so the big questions is how much he might have left in the tank to be starting over. Andrew Beaton, sports reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Finally, many experts have signaled that the U.S. could be in for a shortage of life-saving ventilators amid the coronavirus pandemic. While we are not currently short, hospitals are trying to brace themselves for a spike in severe cases where patients need help breathing. The government is ordering more and encouraging states to also do the same. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Fox News medical contributor, joins us for what to know about a possible ventilator shortage. 

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More big news in the time of coronavirus. The big 3 automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler are closing down all factories to protect workers from the spread of coronavirus. This would affect about 150,000 workers. But what about other manufacturers? Other factories are still working and they are staggering shifts and installing barriers to protect workers from infection. Austen Hufford, manufacturing reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins us for more.

Next, Joe Biden has increased his delegate lead in the race for the democratic nomination for president. Biden swept the three states that voted on Tuesday… Arizona, Florida, and Illinois. This all makes Sanders’ path to the nomination very difficult. His campaign manager has said that he will be “assessing his campaign” to see what happens next. Julia Manchester, political reporter at The Hill, joins us the big takeaways from the latest round of voting.

Finally, a little bit of perspective as we face this coronavirus pandemic. It is a disaster that has no modern parallel. Even some of the worst events that have happened, like natural disasters or terrorist attacks, happen in one place at one time. But this is a health threat hitting the globe all at once and will affect us in many profound ways for some time. Bryan Walsh, future correspondent at Axios, joins us for why this is an endurance race with no clear end yet.

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As whole countries go on lockdown and states and cities here in the U.S. shut down bars and restaurants, we are seeing a generational divide in some cases and the problem is carefree youth that could slow down the fight against the virus and endanger older people. There were various reports of “lockdown parties” in France and Belgium and college students continued some dorm parties. Some feel like the lockdowns are preventing the youth from living, but they are just efforts to mitigate the spread. Stacy Meuchtry, Paris Bureau Chief for the WSJ, joins us for how the youth are reacting and also how the lockdowns are playing out in France.

Next, how are the major tech companies responding to the global pandemic? President Trump jumped the gun in announcing a website that Google was working on to help people get information and schedule tests for COVID-19 . The site is now up, but only in limited capacity in the Bay Area. Also, could Amazon play a role by delivering testing kits? Kara Swisher, hosts of the Pivot and Recode Decode podcasts joins us for more on what big tech can do.

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Testing for coronavirus will soon start to ramp up as the government gets up to speed and also as private labs develop their own tests, such as the Mayo Clinic, who has made their own test that can detect the virus that causes COVID-19. Experts say that once this starts, we will begin to see confirmed cases rise. Dr. Bill Morice, President of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, joins us for why testing is so important.

Next, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats had their first one-on-one debate between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. While Joe Biden remains the front-runner for the nomination, Sanders hammered him on a bunch of policy issues. Joe Biden held his ground and also committed to choosing a woman as a running mate. Jake, Schlesinger, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the big takeaways and also how Biden’s plans show how the party’s center has shifted left.

Finally, the White House has issued new guidelines for the next 15 days. No gatherings in groups of 10 or more and people should avoid bars, restaurants, and food courts. But state and city governments are going a step further and ordering them to close except for delivery and takeout. Marisa Fernandez, reporter at Axios, joins us for more.

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COVID-19, the coronavirus continues to disrupt everyday life in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S. there are now over 3100 cases and over 60 deaths. New travel restrictions are also being put in place for people coming from the U.K. and Ireland, in addition to those already in place for Europe. This is leading to massive lines at airports that are trying to screen citizens as they return. We also learned that President Trump has tested negative for the virus as the administration continues to weigh out options for keeping the economy going while we all practice social distancing. Ginger Gibson, political reporter for Reuters, joins us to talk about the politics of coronavirus.

Next, we know that older people are most at risk for getting severe symptoms from coronavirus, but why aren’t children getting that sick? Studies have shown that children can contract the virus at the same rates as adults, but the symptoms are not as bad. It all could come down to a person’s underlying health conditions. While the immune system is fighting the virus it could also be exacerbating these underlying health factors. Megan Molteni, staff writer at Wired, joins us for why COVID-19 isn’t affecting kids the same way as others.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You are hearing the stories all over the place, bans on large public gatherings, schools closing, and major sports leagues all suspending operations for now. President Trump even banned travel from Europe for 30 days. The goal of all of this is to flatten the curve, which is to slow the spread of COVID-19 to allow local healthcare systems to effectively treat those that are sick. Reid Wilson, correspondent for The Hill, joins us for why canceling all these events makes sense.

Next, there was a major victory for Led Zeppelin in their “Stairway to Heaven” lawsuit. A federal appeals court ruled that they did not steal the opening bars from Spirit’s song “Taurus.” A lot of the ruling had to do with what’s called the inverse ratio rule which has to do with access to an artist’s body of work. Devon Ivie, associate editor at Vulture, joins us for what this means for other music copyright lawsuits.

Finally, new research is showing how long COVID-19 can survive on a variety of surfaces. It is still not known if you can contract the coronavirus from touching certain surfaces, it is believed that it is mostly contracted from person to person transmission, but it can live in the air for about three hours and on some surfaces up to three days. My producer Victor Wright, joins us for more.

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The World Health Organization has now declared the COVID-19 crisis a pandemic with Iran and Italy as the new front lines in the battle against the virus. Italy has over 12,000 cases and over 800 deaths leading the government to put the entire country on lockdown, limiting the movement of 60 million people. Chico Harlan, Rome Bureau Chief at the Washington Post, joins us for what Italy is like post lockdown.

Next, after Super Tuesday part 2, Joe Biden has extended his lead to claim the Democratic nomination for the president. But you can’t count out Bernie Sanders just yet. Despite calls for him to get out of the race, Sanders has said he will continue his campaign and participate in a one-on-one debate with Biden on Sunday. David Siders, national political correspondent at Politico, joins us for the continued fight for the Democratic nomination.

Finally, the spread of COVID-19 continues to affect all aspects of everyday life and the sports world is no different. March Madness will be played with no fans, the Golden State Warriors will also play a game in an empty arena. But what about Major League Baseball? Opening day is two weeks away and while they would like to use alternate sites for games, it seems like they too might play with no fans in attendance. Jared Diamond, national baseball writer at the Wall Street Journal, joins us for more.

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