Sunday, April 5 – While John is still shooting at home,
COVID-19 news was the focus of the “recap of the week,” not the whole show.
That news included Trump framing over 100,000 forecasted deaths as a good
thing, Jared Kushner arguing that the national stockpile isn’t intended for the
states (the thing about the nation is that it’s composed mostly of states!), and a look at the uneven
performance of various governors given the lack of a strong federal response.
We then moved onto the main story, on the fringe news network One America News.
This story touched on COVID-19 as well, from their White House reporter’s
overly-flattering questions at press briefings to one host’s framing of
flouting social distancing to get a haircut as taking a stand for freedom under
restrictions akin to “Hitler’s Germany.” But John looked at the network as a
whole, describing it as “Fox News with even less shame and even fewer
scruples.”
Monday, April 6 – We opened on the surgeon general
warning that this will be the hardest week in most Americans’ lives, juxtaposed
with people crapping on that warning by crowding the streets. We also got more
of Trump touting hydroxychloroquine, although at least this time he conceded
that he wasn’t a doctor – I liked Trevor’s suggestion that all his press
briefings include drug-commercial-style disclaimers. For good news, we had
Italy and Spain possibly turning a corner, and South Korea showing up everybody
when it comes to fighting COVID-19. Trevor tried to make his own face mask but
decided it was better to stay at home when the correspondents proved no help in
his endeavor (although Michael realizing he accidentally made a Klan hood made
me laugh.) The guest, Jennifer Garner, discussed her initiative to provide food
for kids out of school through videos of celebrities reading kids’ books for
charity.
Tuesday, April 7 – A little good news from social
distancing: reduced pollution in India and a pair of zoo pandas mating now that
humans aren’t watching them all the time (I liked the joke about how
differently animals will tell their
grandchildren about COVID-19.) Next up was Boris Johnson’s hospitalization and
yet another coronavirus warning that Trump ignored months ago. The big story
was the Wisconsin primary, which went on despite the governor’s attempts to
postpone it. After a montage of GOP leaders not wanting to ensure people can
vote safely, Trevor noted that they’re now just openly saying they know increased voter turnout hurts their chances
of winning. Roy and Michael announced the winner of Trump’s “best word,” the
“oranges” of the Russia investigation. Economic Gita Gopinath was the guest,
discussing how the pandemic creates a different sort of recession and how
recovery might also look different.
Wednesday, April 8 – Good jokes on Jack Dorsey’s massive
COVID-19 donation, outclassing much richer billionaires (like your friends
tipping the waiter $5 each while you buy him a Lambourghini!) Next were some
creative social distancing solutions before moving on to a strong story on
Black people being disproportionately affected/killed by the virus, covering
the issue from multiple angles. The line, “It turns out racism is an essential
industry too!” was a sad one. Black people’s dilemma on homemade face masks
(take precautions against COVID-19 and risk looking like a “criminal”) was a
good demonstration of how raceblind policies aren’t innocuous. Dulcé critiqued
the homes of various news anchors reporting from home – my favorite was the guy
with the weird curved bookshelf that looked like a “limp dick.” The guest was
Roxane Gay, who talked about direct ways to help the Black community during the
crisis.
Thursday, April 9 – Today’s good news featured
restaurants helping customers recreate their favorites and Saudi Arabia’s ceasefire
with Yemen. We also looked at the importance of keeping up social distancing
(it’s like sex – you don’t pull back when you’re almost there!), using Sweden’s
laxness and Singapore’s recent uptick in cases as examples. Interesting story
on relationships, with some couples chafing being together 24/7. Good point on
divorce plans that were interrupted by the pandemic, and I liked the flipside,
people who get creative with stay-at-home date nights. Jordan interviewed a
prepper whose time has finally come, though he didn’t make the cut for the
guy’s compound. Guest Darren Walker talked COVID-19 and incarceration, urging
officials to reduce prison populations. The intersection of the Black
community’s disproportionate experiences with both prison and COVID-19 made it
even scarier.
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