KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times want to share a new podcast: The Walk Home. Listen to the first episode here. To get new episodes as they come out, look for The Walk Home wherever you get your podcasts or visit thewalkhomepodcast.org.

A year ago, Dr. Nick Mark worried he might not survive the pandemic. He's a critical-care doctor in Seattle who performs risky procedures, like intubations, on some of the sickest COVID-19 patients. He and his colleagues updated their wills and made sure their life insurance premiums were paid automatically.

Now that most students are back in school in the Northwest, there are a lot of feelings going around.

On the day I meet 86-year-old Chris Swanson inside her room at Horizon House in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood, it feels like a party.

When 65-year-old Bonnie McGuire was vaccinated earlier this year for COVID-19, a huge weight of worry disappeared in an instant.

Emergencies do something to our brains. A few months after a catastrophe, people find themselves more irritable and less able to concentrate. Rates of depression and anxiety rise. Same with substance use and suicide. This has been observed in disaster after disaster.

Living during a global pandemic is inherently stressful. Stress can negatively impact how we make decisions.

It’s been about one month since the first coronavirus vaccine arrived in Washington state. Residents, some of them in tears, watched a nurse receive the first injection. This event was supposed to herald the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

The beard is real. The suit is red. And he's separated from his guests by several feet and plexiglass. We meet Santas intent on creating memories, even in a pandemic. Note: This episode is especially appealing to those who appreciate the sounds of squealing children.

This pandemic is testing peoples’ safety nets. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent survey, more than 140,000 renters in Washington do not know how they will pay next month’s rent. State and federal eviction moratoriums are preventing most people from being forced out for not paying rent. But these expire at the end of this month. If they aren’t extended, back rent will be due.