Ep. #20: Weekend Grab Bag

Welcome to our weekend grab bag, where we follow up on stories from throughout the week and talk about what we're listening to, reading and watching to stay grounded in this unsettling time.

We start with a look at the numbers: from both a public health perspective and an economic one. The news here in Texas is especially grim, as the state has played fast and loose with the numbers on testing. In addition, over one million Texans have likely, according to the Texas Tribune, "suffered the double whammy of losing their jobs and their employer-based health insurance."

Meanwhile, as the GOP vilifies the vast majority of Americans in favor of shutdown measures, a new study shows 36,000 American lives could've been saved had we started social distancing a week earlier.

A final follow-up: ICYMI, check out Antoinette's Oh This Small World on "Business Leaders and the Myth of the Middle Ground."

Next up is a wide-ranging conversation on political labels: do they help us understand our country and our political parties? Or are they harmful? Are the labels that we use even relevant to today?

Antoinette and Lucas also took a couple of ideological quizzes to see where they ranked and if they thought the results were accurate. Want to try them yourself? You can find them here and here.

As for weekend recs, Antoinette has Theranos on the brain: she suggests both checking out the ABC Audio podcast The Dropout, about the Elizabeth Holmes fiasco, and reading John Carreyrou's account of the same, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup."

Looking for a weekend LOL? Lucas puts in a plug for his husband Greg Marshall's recent humor piece up at McSweeney's. Speaking of Greg, he and Lucas have recently started taking voice lessons over Zoom. Looking to learn a new skill this summer but want to keep things socially distant? For Austin listeners, Lucas suggests considering an online class at the Contemporary Austin or taking a (virtual) Informal Class through UT-Austin.

Stay safe this long weekend, and we'll see you on Monday! 

This episode was recorded on Friday, May 22, 2020.