Pandemic Nation
35 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago -Each week Pandemic Nation examines how the coronavirus is affecting front-line workers and America's most vulnerable populations.
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Episodes
COVID Roulette: Frontline Workers Forced to Choose Income Over Health
February 19, 2021 20:27 - 11 minutes - 26.6 MBAs pandemic-striken businesses return to life, employees face medical risks and uncertainty. Mark Kreidler speaks to Elvia Martinez, who works at LAX’s Panda Express.
Health Care Workers Battle in COVID’s Dangerous Trenches
February 12, 2021 19:53 - 17 minutes - 39.2 MBWhat happens when pandemic fighters are at risk themselves with preexisting medical conditions?
Closing a Hospital During a Pandemic
February 03, 2021 16:28 - 12 minutes - 28.3 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Shenita Anderson, a nurse at Olympia Medical Center, a soon to be shuttered hospital in Los Angeles.
One Patient at a Time
December 24, 2020 19:39 - 15 minutes - 36.5 MBMark Kreidler speaks with Dr. Coley King, director of homeless health care at Venice Family Clinic.
Chasing The Vaccine: Episode 5
December 18, 2020 19:55 - 9 minutes - 21.8 MBShe has heard no plan for a federal relief package that might somehow lessen her burden. And, hotel worker Liliana Hernandez says, the whole notion of a vaccine getting the country back on track might be way too late for her and her colleagues. In a state of inequity, relief remains elusive.
Chasing the Vaccine: Episode 4
December 17, 2020 19:36 - 15 minutes - 35.8 MBWhile 57% of Californians in a recent Public Policy Institute poll said they would either definitely or probably take the vaccine, the figure plummets to 29% among Black respondents. Systemic and pervasive racism lies at the root of that deep distrust of the system, says our guest, Michelle Burton of the Los Angeles-based Community Health Councils.
Chasing the Vaccine: Episode 3
December 16, 2020 20:04 - 14 minutes - 33.7 MBMark Kreidler speaks with Erin McIntosh, a rapid-response nurse in Riverside, about the burnout plaguing health care workers in the final stretch of the pandemic.
Chasing the Vaccine: Episode 2
December 15, 2020 21:05 - 13 minutes - 31.3 MBCommuniCare's CEO explains how community clinics will receive and administer the vaccine to patients who don't often see doctors.
Chasing The Vaccine: Episode 1
December 14, 2020 18:27 - 15 minutes - 34.7 MBWho gets the coronavirus vaccine first -- and who decides this? Mark Kreidler talks with California health care advocate Anthony Wright.
Chasing The Virus: Episode 1
December 14, 2020 18:27 - 15 minutes - 34.7 MBWho gets the coronavirus vaccine first -- and who decides this? Mark Kreidler talks with California health care advocate Anthony Wright.
No Reinforcements
November 24, 2020 20:42 - 15 minutes - 36.3 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Jenny Wong-Swanson, a Kaiser Permanente nurse in Woodland Hills, about the pandemic’s explosion.
A Sense of Relief
November 11, 2020 17:28 - 17 minutes - 39.3 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Dr. Jeanne Noble about the new president and his impact on how the country deals with COVID-19.
A Shattered Service Economy
October 28, 2020 00:14 - 14 minutes - 32.7 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Elvia Martinez, a food service worker at LAX.
Mishandled Outbreak
October 12, 2020 17:26 - 14 minutes - 20.2 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Eunice Balencio, a nurse on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle.
The Right to Return
September 28, 2020 18:16 - 12 minutes - 28.6 MBMark Kriedler speaks to Keisha Banks, an Events Server for the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood, California.
School Lunch Insecurity
September 21, 2020 16:41 - 14 minutes - 33.2 MBMark Kriedler speaks to Kristen Tobey, Co-Founder of Oakland's Revolution Foods.
Frontline LAX Workers Left To Die
September 14, 2020 12:08 - 9 minutes - 21 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Marlene Mendoza, a server of 32 years at LAX for HMS Host.
Essential Restaurant Workers
September 04, 2020 18:02 - 15 minutes - 34.6 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Eileen Saltman, a worker at Reem’s California, a restaurant and bakery in Oakland.
Reinventing Learning: Teaching 5th Grade Online
August 27, 2020 17:36 - 17 minutes - 39.1 MBFrank Lara, a teacher in San Francisco's Mission District, speaks on the challenges of distance learning as the fall semester begins.
Florida Fudges COVID Numbers Downward as Infections Surge Up
June 24, 2020 20:17 - 14 minutes - 32.2 MBThe Sunshine State shows there is more than one way to suppress the kinds of figures that reveal the virus’s true human cost.
U.S. Ill-Prepared to Combat COVID-Induced Mental Health Crisis
June 20, 2020 20:57 - 14 minutes - 33 MBMore than a third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, a 300 percent increase over last year.
‘Tsunami of Evictions’ Predicted as Tenant Protections Lapse | Guest: Ken Rogers, VP of the National Union of Healthcare Workers
June 15, 2020 00:48 - 16 minutes - 38.3 MBAs eviction bans lift and temporary housing provisions end, what happens to those who can’t afford rent? Mark Kreidler speaks to Ken Rogers, Vice President of the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
No Place to Sleep | Guest: Shannon Eizenga, The Gubbio Project
June 07, 2020 03:32 - 16 minutes - 38 MBWill a wave of teacher resignations accompany the reopening of K-12 schools across the country this fall? Will local enrollments crater? A national survey suggests it’s possible. Mark Kreidler speaks to Shannon Eizenga, Executive Director of The Gubbio Project.
Nurses Still Waiting for Masks After 100 COVID RN Deaths | Guest: Catherine Mithamo, CNA
May 30, 2020 21:20 - 16 minutes - 37.7 MBA survey of 23,000 nurses found that 87 percent of respondents must still reuse disposable masks while attending to COVID-19 patients. Mark Kreidler speaks to Catherine Mithamo, a nursing home worker at facility with a COVID outbreak.
Remote Communities Face Virus With Fewer Hospitals | Guest: Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United and president of California Nurses Association
May 24, 2020 01:04 - 18 minutes - 26 MBThe lights are going out in America’s rural hospitals and clinics at the moment they are most needed. Mark Kriedler speaks to Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United and president of California Nurses Association.
Permanent Job Losses May Be the Pandemic’s Second Act | Guest: Holly Ortiz, an Assistant Preschool Director
May 15, 2020 16:41 - 17 minutes - 24.4 MBA new study, citing historical precedent, claims 42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanently lost jobs. Mark Kreidler speaks to Holly Ortiz, an assistant preschool director in Fountain Valley, California. More than half of her 11-member household has been infected with COVID-19, including her home health care provider parents.
A Veep Quits Amazon. Will it Matter? | Guest: Lola Gomez, Austin American-Statesman photojournalist.
May 07, 2020 23:18 - 18 minutes - 41.5 MBThe firings of Amazon whistleblowers, Tim Bray wrote, were further evidence “of a vein of toxicity running through the company’s culture." Mark Kreidler speaks to Lola Gomez, an Austin American-Statesman photojournalist that contracted COVID-19 while on assignment.
To Live and Die Poor in L.A.: Virus Survey’s Grim Figures |Guests: Felicia Canales, Pavillions Grocery Worker
May 01, 2020 20:33 - 16 minutes - 37.2 MBLos Angeles reports that its county’s low-income COVID deaths are triple the number of those of wealthier neighborhoods. Mark Kreidler speaks to Felicia Canales, a grocery worker at the Vons-owned Pavilions in Orange County, California.
Battles Over Masks Grow Desperate | Guests: Tom Shaw, a Bus Operator at TWU Local 234 in Philadelphia
April 23, 2020 19:36 - 13 minutes - 31 MBFrom health care workers to immigrant detainees, efforts to acquire protective face coverings are complicated by bureaucratic resistance. Mark Kreidler speaks to Tom Shaw, a Bus Operator at TWU Local 234 in Philadelphia.
Undocumented Taxpayers Get No Stimulus Money | Guests: Dr. Jeanne Noble, Director of the COVID-19 Response Unit, UCSF
April 16, 2020 18:07 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Dr. Jeanne Noble, Director of the Covid-19 Response Unit in the emergency department at UC San Francisco's Parnassus Medical Center. A trio of Democratic lawmakers is attempting to correct Congress’ omission of undocumented workers from the CARES Act.
California Bill Could Offer Help to Parents Missing Work to Care For Kids
April 10, 2020 04:09 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBSB 943 would expand the state’s Paid Family Leave program, extending benefits to parents impacted by school closures. Mark Kreidler speaks to Reagan Duncan, a San Diego area teacher adapting to the new virtual classroom reality.
Pandemic Truths and Consequences (INTERVIEW ONLY)
April 02, 2020 19:43 - 10 minutes - 23 MBMark Kreidler speaks to Monique Hernandez, a nurse on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pandemic Truths and Consequences
April 02, 2020 18:51 - 18 minutes - 41.2 MBAs uncertainties and conflicting data swirl around COVID-19, a few truths about the poor bear repeating. On today's episode: Mark Kreidler speaks to Monique Hernandez, a nurse on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No Sheltering in Place for California’s Homeless
April 01, 2020 10:16 - 8 minutes - 22.1 MBAfter a week of private negotiations, the state is no closer to filling empty hotel rooms with at-risk homeless people. Each week Pandemic Nation offers a roundup and analysis of news about the coronavirus.
Trailer: Pandemic Nation
March 27, 2020 00:59 - 1 minute - 6.03 MBVeteran journalist Mark Kreidler begins a new weekly column and podcast covering the coronavirus and its social impacts.