Why the USPS Is in Trouble (0:33)

Guest: Devin Leonard, Investigative Reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek, Author of “Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service”

The US Postal Service says it may not survive the summer without a bailout from the federal government. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress want to offer that relief, but President Trump does not, so the only thing his administration has allowed so far in the pandemic stimulus bills is access to a loan that comes with a lot of strings attached. And even then, it’s too small to save the post.

 

You’d Think the Internet Would Have Crashed With All the Pandemic Traffic. Here’s Why It Hasn’t. (18:22)

Guest: Vint Cerf, Father of the Internet, Chief Internet Evangelist and Vice President of Google

Where would we be without the internet right now? No Zoom. No Netflix. No social media or email or working from home. No online shopping or podcasts or streaming music. With all that happening over the internet right now, you might wonder how the system has held up. Why haven’t there been nationwide – or even worldwide – internet outages like sometimes happen with cell networks or electric power? Well, it’s because the internet was created from the start to work well during the toughest conditions. Vint Cerf was there at the beginning – he’s considered one of the “fathers of the internet."

 

Movie Theater Showdown (37:09)

Guest: Jeff Bock, Senior Box Office Analyst, Exhibitor Relations 

With movie theaters shutdown for who knows how long, studios have pushed back the release dates of blockbusters like Mulan and James Bond. But some movies are going straight to online rental. Trolls World Tour did so well online this month that NBCUniversal says it’ll start releasing films both in theaters and online at the same time when this is all over. Companies that own movie theaters say that will ruin them. AMC and Regal Cinemas are threatening to ban any Universal movies from their theaters. Grab the popcorn, cause there’s drama folks.

 

The Power of Social Norms to Make Us Behave Badly (50:36)

Guest: Catherine Sanderson, PhD, Professor of Psychology Amherst College, Author of "Why We Act: Turning Bystanders Into Moral Rebels"

The pandemic is forcing us all to rely on each other to do the right thing – to absolutely stay isolated if you’re feeling sick, to wear a mask in public and keep six feet of distance. A lot of this is awkward and unnatural, especially when it feels like you’re the only one at the grocery store trying to follow the rules. Psychologist Catherine Sanderson studies the power of social norms to make us do things we wouldn’t normally do. Her new book is called, “Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels.”

 

Quarantined in a Ghost Town (1:25:43)

Guest: Brent Underwood, Marketer, Owner of Cerro Gordo

I know this sounds like a movie plot, but it’s Brent Underwood’s real life at the moment. He’s been stuck for weeks in an abandoned mining town called Cerro Gordo up in the California mountains. Well, all alone unless you count the ghosts that are said to haunt the town.