The city of Portland’s transportation department said last week that it would not block off roads to car traffic to make more room for pedestrians, as some other cities had done as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. But this week it reversed course and said it would put up temporary barriers blocking off some city streets to help people comply with state-mandated social distancing measures. We talk with the director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Chris Warner.
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Social distancing measures and an endless news cycle focused on COVID-19 has many people feeling anxious and depressed. The pandemic has also led to a kind of collective grief as we mourn life as we knew it before coronavirus. We speak with licensed clinical social worker Adrianne Miller about the kinds of conversations she's having with her clients right now, and how to cope with the overwhelming feelings that can seem as pervasive as the virus itself.
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One tried and true way to pass the time when you’re alone indoors is to read a book. "Think Out Loud" is starting an on-air book club so we can spend time alone, together. We’ve chosen a book by a Pacific Northwest author that seems to have some resonance with the particular moment we’re living through right now. And we hope you all will read it with us, and then call in to talk about the book with us and the author, Nicola Griffith. Her book, "Ammonite," is a science fiction novel about a colony planet quarantined because of a deadly virus that changes everything about how people there live.
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