APRIL 10, 2020

As we look back on another week in isolation, we especially want to applaud those who are on the front lines, helping us fight this horrible pandemic. Much like the people of our country’s outbreak epicenter have been doing each night...

👏👏 for the true heroes

At 7 p.m. every evening, editor Rachel hears a chorus of cheers, cowbells, and vuvuzelas from her New York City apartment while the city salutes its healthcare workers. One woman, walking home from her job as a healthcare worker, said she cried when she heard the cheer. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all the healthcare workers who, in the spirit of Florence Nightingale, are putting their lives on the line for the greater good.

And speaking of New York...

Garrett M. Graff, journalist and author of the profoundly moving oral history of 9/11The Only Plane in the Sky (this year’s Audie winner for Audiobook of the Year) is compiling another oral history, this time of New Yorkers as they live at the epicenter of the COVID-19 battle. From healthcare workers to residents to media personalIties, each contributor offers heartbreaking and poignant insight into life in New York at a new ground zero.

Mask crafting, but make it audio

The mask debate is over as the CDC confirms: Americans should cover their faces when going out for essential tasks in public. (For more context, check out I Contain Multitudes author Ed Yong’s great piece in The Atlantic). If you’re making your own, the CDC has both sew and no-sew tutorials, but the agency was mum on the subject of what to listen to while crafting. We aspire to this level of ingenuity—a jazzy mystery starring Bahni Turpin, free on Stories? #goals—and for more ideas, we dug up a favorite Done While Listening collection that pairs our members’ amazing arts and crafts with the listens that accompanied their creative processes.

Keeping traditions alive

Wednesday night marked the beginning of Passover, and this year the answer to the Passover question, ''What makes this night different from all other nights?'' is an unusually long one. While all of the Passover traditions remain for a lot of us—albeit virtually—these days it’s a little bit tougher to abstain from bread given how much homemade sourdough we’re seeing these days on our social media timelines. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to share a table with our loved ones again.

When spring break is only in your mind

As those of us with kids here in New Jersey head into a housebound spring break week, we were inspired by these beautiful vintage-style travel posters that urge you to vacation at home. And while canceled travel plans are the least of anyone's worries at this time, we know a lot of folks are suffering from some serious wanderlust with no outlet. Check out this collection of listens that scratch your travel itch while you surf the waves of your couch.

Getting to know Dr. Fauci (via Alan Alda!)

As part of an upcoming project, we recently captured a fascinating conversation between Emmy-winning actor Alan Alda and Dr. Anthony Fauci, and are sharing it here to listen to free. In Soldiers of Science you’ll get to know the man behind the sobering and stabilizing presence on TV, and hear the unique personal history that equipped him to keep our nation informed about COVID-19.

For more greatness in isolation:

Audiobooks in This Edition

Notes on Nursing Audiolibro Por Florence Nightingale arte de portada
Sourdough Audiolibro Por Robin Sloan arte de portada
An Interview with Anthony Fauci Audiolibro Por Alan Alda, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Kate Rope arte de portada
I Contain Multitudes Audiolibro Por Ed Yong arte de portada
Malcolm and Me Audiolibro Por Ishmael Reed arte de portada
The Only Plane in the Sky Audiolibro Por Garrett M. Graff, Holter Graham arte de portada