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Unpacking our collective COVID-19 trauma, five years on
Mar 11, 2025
Episode 1347

Unpacking our collective COVID-19 trauma, five years on

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The pandemic continues to shape our lives and economy, says David Wallace-Wells of The New York Times.

Five years ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since then, there have been lockdowns, a recession, two presidential elections and more than a million American lives lost from the disease.

In many ways, life feels like it’s back to normal, but David Wallace-Wells, a writer for The New York Times, argues that the pandemic still has a grip on American life, from our faith in public health institutions to the way consumers feel about the economy.

“This was a world historical trauma of the kind that used to define whole generations when it hit societies in earlier times, and we’re probably not taking seriously enough the possibility that we’re living through that scale of transformation now,” said Wallace-Wells.

On the show today, Wallace-Wells walks us through how Americans neglected to process the seismic impact of the pandemic in the rush to recover from it, and how it’s left us more self-interested and less empathetic. Plus, how this can help explain disgruntled consumers and a growing appetite for risk-taking in the economy.

Then, we’ll get into how responses to public health emergencies has shifted to the realm of the private sector since the pandemic. And, why universities are choosing to stay silent on divisive issues.

Later, we’ll hear listeners’ reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic, five years on. And, the surprising benefits of dandelions.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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The team

Marissa Cabrera Senior Producer
Courtney Bergsieker Associate Producer