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Prioritizing Public Health; Grieving Coronavirus; Blaming "Others"

Cathy Baird
/
Creative Commons
The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life

William Wetmore Story sculpted The Angel of Grief for his wife's grave after her death in 1894. He wrote that it was the only way he could express his feelings of utter abandonment. It was his last work before his own death one year later.

We may not readily identify grief in the gamut of emotions we're feeling during this pandemic. We haven't lost the kind of love expressed through William Story's sculpture, but loss is very much at the center of our new reality. We are collectively grieving the loss of a world that has changed forever.

Also this hour: There's a growing movement of people who want to restart the economy at the expense of public health. Health experts say that's a bad idea. While President Trump walked back his desire to reopen the economy by Easter on Sunday evening, there remains an unsettling push to prioritize the economy over certain groups of people.

Lastly, we must resist blaming "others" for viruses we can't control.

GUESTS:

  • Gregg Gonsalves - Assistant professor of epidemiology and the co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale School of Public Health
  • David Kessler - The author of five books and the founder of grief.com; his latest book is Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief
  • Ian Buruma - Professor of human rights and journalism at Bard College

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Gene Amatruda, Joe Coss, and T.J. Coppola contributed to this show.

Betsy started as an intern at WNPR in 2011 after earning a Master's Degree in American and Museum Studies from Trinity College. She served as the Senior Producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show' for several years before stepping down in 2021 and returning to her previous career as a registered nurse. She still produces shows with Colin and the team when her schedule allows.

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