Voices of COVID-19 brianelucas

In the final new episode of Voices of COVID-19, Brian Lucas interviews NBC and MSNBC Health Analyst Dr. Vin Gupta. Since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Gupta has been a welcome voice into American households, providing perspective that was both urgent and rational, clear-eyed and nuanced, plan spoken and still empathetic to the confusion and fear gripping the nation.
Dr. Gupta is a practicing pulmonologist and critical care physician, and an Affiliate Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington. He also has a military background as a Major in the Air Force Reserve Medical Corps.

2020 was poised to be a big year for Dessa, with a concert tour planned and the launch of her podcast, Deeply Human, on the horizon. COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd changed everything. Suddenly the multi-talented rapper, singer and writer was dealing with isolation from the pandemic and anxiety about the fear and unrest gripping her community.
As she forged a new path, Dessa returned to the power of words and music. She launched her podcast, which examines human nature and why we think and behave the way we do. She also put music into the world with a project called Ides, releasing one song a month as an outlet for her creativity (and a lifeline for music lovers).  
In this episode, Brian Lucas interviews Dessa about how she coped, adapted, and hopefully emerged even stronger through the challenges of a trying year.

For many people, music was a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing escape while also helping us process our feelings and anxieties.
In this episode, Brian Lucas interviews singer, songwriter Jeremy Messersmith, who released a series of deeply personal songs during the pandemic called Mixtape for the Milky Way.
Jeremy reveals that even as he was putting this music into the world, he dealt with fear and isolation that made it difficult to even listen to music, much less write or perform, during the pandemic.

Nicole Lewis is a reporter for the Marshall Project. During the pandemic, Nicole documented the stories of four incarcerated individuals in an incredible piece: “How we survived COVID-19 in Prison.” 
In part two of her interview, Nicole discusses conditions that contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the challenges around vaccine hesitancy among both incarcerated people and prison staff, and the lessons we can hopefully learn about the interconnectedness of our society.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, incarcerated people were among the hardest hit populations in the United States. Overcrowding, substandard facilities, underlying health conditions and misinformation about the virus created a volatile mix that led to huge numbers of infected individuals.
Nicole Lewis is a reporter for the Marshall Project. During the pandemic, Nicole documented the stories of four incarcerated individuals in an incredible piece: “How we survived COVID-19 in Prison.” 
In part one of a two-part interview, Nicole discusses the conditions that contributed to the high COVID numbers in prisons, and the unique challenges incarcerated people faced just to survive.

At the one year mark of the pandemic, there are signs of progress but we are far from out of the woods.
For those on the front lines, the exhaustion and emotional toll of the last year are hard to quantify. Even as we see a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, they must remain focused on each day, each patient, each family that is touched by this virus.
In this episode, Brian Lucas interviews Dr. Thanh Neville, a physician and researcher at UCLA Health. Dr. Neville works in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. She is also the medical director of UCLA Health’s Three Wishes Program, which works to implement the final wishes for patients who are dying.