Welcome to the first edition of The New Normal, NPR’s daily newsletter about the coronavirus pandemic. So much has changed in such a short time, and we’re all feeling unmoored. We hope we can deliver something useful to help you get through whatever comes next. Drop us a line at TheNewNormal@npr.org with questions, advice and suggestions. Or anything funny. Extra points for funny. Hang in there, friends.
— Jill and Suzette |
So, let’s get through the hard part first, then onto a bit of joy a little lower down (because we all need some joy).
The U.S. surgeon general warned Americans that “this week is going to get bad,” as an increasing number of schools close for the remainder of the year and more states go on lockdown. Earlier today, Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson put the entire U.K. on lockdown over coronavirus.
What is Congress doing about all this? A whole lot of arguing over who should get what in the $1.8 trillion coronavirus financial relief package. And as of right now, a speedy compromise doesn’t look likely. When the two sides start offering counter bills to counter bills, you know this is going to take a while.
Anyone remember sports? Remember watching LeBron vs. Giannis, March Madness brackets, baseball spring training and every other amazing sporting event held all over the world? Now comes word that the Tokyo Summer Olympics are also likely to also be canceled. Sigh.
On today’s Coronavirus Daily podcast: how officials weigh the economic cost against the benefits of public health; a report from the hardest-hit area of Italy; and, a sampling of free things that you had to pay for before the coronavirus. (Listening time, 12:27)
With all this bad news, we're starting to wonder how we're going to through it. Last week’s It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders took a look at ways we support each other. (Listening time, 37:05)
Now on to something more hopeful. The military is expected to begin setting up makeshift hospitals to take some of the pressure off medical facilities. So there is a plan. Because we could all use a plan right about now. Even the dog has started looking at us like, “What’s the plan? Are you ever going to leave?”
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| | | Courtesy of D-Nice/Instagram |
D-Nice’s “Homeschool at Club Quarantine” saved a lot of lives this weekend. The legendary DJ hosted back-to-back dance parties on his Instagram live feed on Friday and Saturday nights, and by Sunday night, more than 160k people — including Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Oprah, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden — had joined the nine-hour virtual dance party. It felt like a new kind of community building fueled by incredible music and a powerful sense of nostalgia for a way of life that’s been placed on hold. (Listen to the NPR story)
Actress Rita Wilson and her husband, Tom Hanks, have been quarantined in Australia since they were diagnosed with coronavirus earlier this month. All those hours of social distancing have apparently allowed Wilson to brush up on her hip-hop rhyming skills (via Instagram).
Nick Heath is a London-based sportscaster who hasn’t had a whole lot to talk about since the coronavirus shut down sports around the world. But his funny Twitter postings with play-by-play commentary on ordinary folks doing everyday stuff has found a following. |
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