An exploration of the transformational events and movements that are creating a new normal in our society, as told by reporters on the ground in the Pacific Northwest. Hosted by Sara Bernard. Season 1: The Pandemic Season 2: Defunding the Police Season 3: Education … Cover photo by Lindsey Wasson
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Ep. 1 - A New Kind of Anxiety and the Early Days of COVID-19 (Season 1)
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
In the weeks since the novel coronavirus claimed its first American victim in late February, COVID-19 has come to consume every facet of daily life in the United States, as it has in countries around the globe. As the number of cases rise, many Americans have been ordered to stay at home, bringing the economy to a near standstill. But in the days before that first death, Americans were largely unaware of the virus and for six weeks it quietly spread throughout Western Washington, the first epicenter of the American outbreak. As it did so, Crosscut reporter Hannah Weinberger was tracking the story of the first reported case, growing more anxious and, it turned out, getting sick. For this first episode of This Changes Everything, host Sara Bernard talks with Weinberger about those early days, what she learned about our health care system's preparedness and what it was like to grapple with a new kind of anxiety before it swept the nation.