The trip’s been long, strange, severe, and sanitized, but the real PPE is the friends we made along the way. So this week we’re reconnecting with them, to hear how life’s gone on since the last time we spoke, and how their stories continue after our episodes end. And though we wish that we could climb right through the telephone line, still we’re reunited and it feels so good. This week we’re catching up with old friends.
 

“It Becomes a Mental Thing”
by Khyriel Palmer
[01:08]

Back in May, we spoke to Brooklyn resident Mavis Palmer about her experience contracting the Coronavirus and we were offered some insight on what it’s like to survive the debilitating disease. This week, we called up Mavis to see how she’s doing, and what she’s doing to get her life back on track. 

“They Protect Their Community”
by Shirin Barghi
[09:51]

La Colmena is a community-based organization working with undocumented day laborers, domestic workers, and other low-wage immigrant workers through organizing, education, culture, and equitable economic development. In April, Executive Director Yesenia Mata told us about the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis on the undocumented community amid ongoing ICE raids. This week, she gives us an update and some good news. 

“What’s Happening in the Subways”
by Sachar Mathias
[13:22]

Train operator Chris Murrel called us in April to tell us about the “new normal” he found himself in when the city shut down because of the pandemic. With the city slowly opening back up, he calls us to say he’s still hanging in there.

“Much Less Optimistic”
by Charlie Hoxie
[26:54]

Producer Charlie Hoxie revisits Dr. Vincent Racaniello, the virologist from Columbia University who really loves viruses. When we spoke to Dr. Racaniello in May, he was pretty optimistic about the situation. Fast forward to this week, his outlook is a little less rosy. 

“To Predict People's Ability to Survive”
by Emily Boghossian
[35:41]

Two months ago, we produced a story about medical resource rationing under covid, and the ableist guidelines that states have been using to allocate care in the US. This week, we checked in with one of the people we interviewed -- Director of Advocacy at the Center for Public Representation, Alison Barkoff -- to talk about how the fight for disability rights has progressed, and where it’s headed next.

“Playing Ping Pong as Immunity Fades”
by Sachar Mathias
[44:50]

We first met Mert Erogul, MD -- an emergency room doctor in a Brooklyn hospital  grappling with COVID-19 -- back in March. He’s checked in regularly since, with stories from the field and news from the front, but it’s been over a month since we last heard from Dr Mert, who this week sets a very different scene.

“I Miss You. I Love You”
by Shirin Barghi
[57:58]

Former BRIC Vice President, Betsy Smulyan, calls to tell us about her new job as the Interim Executive Director at Heights and Hills, an organization that supports in-home aging. With a staff consisting of Brooklyn-based social workers and volunteers, the organization has dedicated itself to helping homebound seniors through the Covid crisis.

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“Weekend Weather with Junior Meteorologist Giff City” was produced by Emily Boghossian, Taylor Cook, and Lauren Germain. Brooklyn USA’s “Messages From Over Here” are produced by Voltron.

If you have something to say and want us to share it, all you have to do is...

1. Call (917) 719-0021 to reach our Voicemail Box
2. Tell us your name, neighborhood, email (we’ll edit this out – just want to know how to reach you!)
3. Tell us any and all of the things that you need or want to say.

• It can be a story, a joke, a secret, or a fact.
• It can be something that you overheard from six feet away, or have been thinking about, worrying about, or a thing that made you smile.
• It can be a way that you're coping with, processing, and navigating this moment, and what you’re hoping that the next one holds.
• It can be a movie recommendation, a book you love, a self care tip or breathing technique that you’re finding very useful...
• or anything else that you want to share with the world!

 
And if you’d rather just record yourself and send it in, just...

1. Open up your phone’s Voice Memos / Voice Recorder app and hit RECORD.
2.  Follow Steps 2 & 3 (from before).
3. Email the audio file to brooklynusapodcast@gmail.com.

 
We’re here when you need us, and we can’t wait to hear from you.
 
See you on the other side, in Brooklyn, USA.

Brooklyn, USA is produced by Sachar Mathias, Emily Boghossian, Shirin Barghi, Khyriel Palmer, Mayumi Sato and Charlie Hoxie.

For more information on this and all BRIC Radio podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio.