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744
August 13, 2021

Essential

The pandemic forced jobs to change, but then the workers changed, too.

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Julia Rothman

Note: The internet version of this episode contains un-beeped curse words. BEEPED VERSION.

Prologue

Prologue

Guest host Chana Joffe-Walt talks to a carpenter whose job output went from fixing doors to something more urgent in the last year. (9 minutes)

By

Chana Joffe-Walt

Julia Rothman

Act One

Three Bottles of Joy

Station agent Moneta Lewis worked underground to shepherd disappearing commuters during the darkest days of the pandemic. What got her (and her colleagues) through? A miscellany of unexpected items. (7 minutes)  

Julia Rothman

Act Two

The $25 Tip

The pandemic forced restaurant server Shelly Ortiz to put on her “Covid Goggles.” What she saw through them made her reevaluate her ideas of what’s important. (13 minutes)

Julia Rothman

Act Three

Teacher Number Four

In Maine, early childhood educator Miss Jordyn Rossignol had several members of her workforce quit. But none hit her quite as hard as Shania. (12 minutes)

Julia Rothman

Act Four

12 Million Thank You Meals

What does “thank you” actually look like? And who gets one? For Flato Alexander and other essential workers, all sorts of symbols that hadn’t bothered them much before suddenly became unbearable. (14 minutes)

Song:

“Work To Do” by The Isley Brothers

Julia Rothman

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Act Three: Granger in a Strange Land

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60: Business of Death
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Act One: The Undertaking

Thomas Lynch reads from his book The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.

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There’s one thing that has been proven to cut the achievement gap between black and white students by half: integration.

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