Voices of COVID-19

We hear a lot about heroes rising to the occasion in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately COVID-19 is also shining a light on some of our society's most troubling issues. Inequality and racism have always been a part of our country and they have proven to be more difficult to eliminate than any virus.

Fueled in part by inflammatory words from the President, COVID-19 is fanning flames of racism, particularly against Asian Americans.

In this episode, Brian Lucas speaks with Michelle Liu, a freshmen at Hamilton College in New York. Michelle talks about the disappointment of having her freshmen year cut short by the pandemic, and she opens up about how incidents of racism have left her concerned for her own safety well beyond the risk of COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic is a stark reminder of something we never should have forgotten in the first place.  We live in a global community. The actions we take individually can and do have consequences around the world.

In this episode, Brian Lucas gets an international perspective on coronavirus from Celica Thellier, who lives in Paris with her husband and her two children. Like the rest of France, Celica has been in mandatory confinement to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. She has also had an up-close and personal view of how serious this virus is.  Her husband just recently recovered from a two-week battle with COVID-19. 

Celica talks about how France is trying to flatten the curve, what it was like to care for her husband through his illness, and the long-term impact this pandemic may have on France going forward. 

Among the essential workers who are putting their lives at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, journalists are sometimes taken for granted.  Reporters are out covering this story every day, possibly exposing themselves to the virus even as they try to educate us all about how to stay healthy.

In Los Angeles, CBS reporter Laurie Perez spends her days speaking with people who are impacted by COVID-19, highlighting the efforts of those on the front lines, and working to spotlight the need for everyone to do their part to stop the spread of this deadly disease.

In this episode of Voices of COVID-19, Brian Lucas talks with Laurie about the challenges that she faces as a journalist during a pandemic, and how she deals with the day-to-day stress in both her work life and at home.

As the coronavirus started its escalation in New York, Rabbi Josh Davidson stood in the sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan and delivered his Shabbat Message to an empty room.  The message was titled, "Climbing Toward the Light of a Better Day," and it was being broadcast to his congregation over the internet.  

Since that day, Rabbi Davidson and his team have had to change the way they serve the community, embracing "virtual" connection in the interest of safety and flattening the curve. But while the methods have had to change, the importance of connection is more important than ever.

In this episode of Voices of Covid-19, Brian Lucas interviews Rabbi Davidson about adapting to a pandemic and how we can come together as a community to find a path forward.

We see it in memes and we hear it in conversation: "We're not asking you to go to war, we're asking you to stay in your house for a few weeks."  

Yes... it's a small price to pay for fighting a pandemic, but it's not a trivial price.  That's particularly true for teenagers, and even more so for high school seniors.  Suddenly the culmination of high school, a moment they have been working hard for and have been looking forward to, is thrown into uncertainty.  They can't see their friends.  Prom... graduation... one final summer at home?  All up in the air.

To get perspective on this, Brian Lucas interviews an expert: his daughter, Julia.

Julia opens up about how social distancing feels as a teenager, what she has done to cope, and how her generation is dealing with this unprecedented moment in history.