More than 10% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but injection rates are lower in black and brown communities, and many people express doubts about the shots made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Vaccine hesitancy presents a barrier in the fight against coronavirus.
A recent poll by Pew Research Center found that "Black Americans continue to stand out as less inclined to get vaccinated than other racial and ethnic groups: 42% would do so, compared with 63% of Hispanic and 61% of White adults."
Our guest, Dr. Wrenetha Julion, professor and department chair at Rush University College of Nursing, discusses causes of vaccine hesitancy and how to encourage more people to take a high-effective vaccine against the virus.
Read moreEven before coronavirus led to social distancing, widespread working from home, and lockdown restrictions, loneliness was becoming a defining condition of the twenty-first century. Today, this pandemic of pain and isolation is far worse.
One of many recent polls found that more than three in five Americans say they are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are left out, poorly understood, and lacking companionship. Other surveys overseas have similar findings.
Our guest, the British economist, Noreena Hertz, is the author of "The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World Pulling Apart." Her new book, published February 2, is a personal and deeply-researched investigation into the roots of the loneliness epidemic, how the pandemic and the 2020 election exacerbated the problem, and what we can do to come together.
Read moreAt the start of 2020, the world first became aware of COVID-19. This show looks at what we have learned about the global pandemic since then.
In early February, Richard spoke face-to-face with epidemiologist Kylie Carlville of Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, during a visit to Melbourne, Australia. In the spring , we interviewed Samson Ellis of Bloomberg News about Taiwan's remarkable success in fighting the spread of the virus. In June, oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel explained global lessons learned from the crisis. He wrote a new book called “Which Country Has the World’s Best Healthcare?”
This episode also includes practical lessons about public healthcare from physician and CEO Doctor Vivian Lee. And we went in pursuit of wisdom and discovery with journalist and author Eric Weiner, author of the new book, “The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons From Dead Philosophers". We discuss what ancient philosophy can teach about living in a time hardship.
Read moreDespite the tragedy, suffering and economic losses of COVID, there are silver linings for many families in the current crisis. Recent lockdowns have a bright side for teens: A new survey says they're spending more time with their parents, getting extra sleep, and suffering from lower levels of clinical depression.
Our guest, New York psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author Erica Komisar, wrote in The Wall Street Journal "it has taken a pandemic to prove that it's possible to integrate work into our personal lives, as many millions of parents are now working from home. "Everyone wins— maternity-leave advocates who have been fighting for this arrangement for years, employers, mothers and children most of all."
In lockdowns, Erica tells us, "children are getting a great deal more of their parents' time and attention and energy than they have previously.'
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