Gulp: Documenting Life in the Time of Coronavirus

In this final episode of season one, Risa and Maureen look back at the last few months of working on the podcast. They revisit interviews that didn't make it into this first season but were crucial in their journey chronicling the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
hic·​cup: a usually minor and short-lived interruption or disruption, or change
Though this is the end of their official season, Hiccup episodes will be scattered throughout the year. So stay tuned!

We explore how education is evolving in different parts of Michigan, a state which often serves as a barometer of things to come throughout the United States. Paula Alejo (a sophomore in high school) and Nashawn Longmire (a senior in high school) speak with us about their final months of this school year and their hopes for the next. Heather McKaig, a high school English teacher and theatre director, opens up to us about her concerns for students during this time and into the future. And Aaron Williams, the principal at Burton Glen Charter Academy outside Flint, Michigan, discusses the specific challenges his community faces, both regarding COVID-19 and the protests surrounding George Floyd's death.

Deonta Williams is an educator and photographer residing in Davison, Michigan. He talks to us about George Floyd's death, documenting peaceful protests in Flint, and inspiring his mostly African American students in painfully difficult times like these.

Elz Cuya Jones is the Deputy Director of North Star Fund, a social justice nonprofit supporting grassroots organizing in NYC and the Hudson Valley, led by communities of color. She shares her thoughts on what it means to be an ally, actions we can take to help support African American communities, and her personal journey in fighting for racial justice.

We especially want to thank the Magic Theater in San Francisco. We remixed the powerful episode, #SayTheirNames, from their podcast Far Apart Art, at the end of this podcast, about which the Magic Theater wrote:
"Friday, June 5th should have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday. Breonna was an EMT and an emergency room technician. She was also a daughter, granddaughter, sister, and a niece. In honor of Breonna and the hundreds of thousands of Black bodies that have been terrorized by white supremacy since the genesis of this country, Magic has put together a special edition of our podcast during which we will #SayTheirNames.

We invite you to hear, to see, and to pay tribute to the person behind each of those names. We have left room for you to say their names in a call and response fashion, or to write down unfamiliar names so you might learn more about them. We owe a debt of gratitude to Kimberlé Crenshaw, The African American Policy Forum, and The Black Lives Matter network for this movement. Playwright Aleshea Harris also offers some meaningful rituals here: What To Send Up On Your Own.

Let this move you, but work diligently to transform your emotions into tangible action. As artists, we are nothing if not catalysts for change.

We want to thank Magic family members Steven Anthony Jones, Leigh Rondon-Davis, Rod Gnapp, Safiya Fredericks, Sarah Nina Hayon, Adrian Roberts, Rinabeth Apostol, and Sara Huddleston for their generous contributions to this podcast."

Dylan Hales, an Australian restaurateur residing in Brooklyn describes surviving COVID-19 during New York City's initial surge, when little was known about the virus itself and less was set up to help those suffering from it.

An ICU nurse from Texas, who wishes to remain anonymous, discusses the impossibility of end of life care during COVID-19 and her mounting anxiety concerning the statewide coronavirus shutdown ending.