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Guest Andy Slavitt and host, Lisa Birnbach
Isn’t it amazing how busy we are paying attention to the news? (You could say I’m riveted, but I’m not sure that even gets to it.) Watching this enterprise-- the Trump world that has replaced our usual -- one feels one has to keep their eyes on whatever is happening, lest it get worse. And yet, it still gets worse. The first federal execution in seventeen years took place this week – in Indiana, after the Supreme Court of Texas weighed in at 2:30 in the morning. Things keep churning whether we’re watching or not. I am now at a place of deep rage that is not productive or beneficial in any way. I recognize that. But this is why I’m so pleased that my guest this week is Andy Slavitt, the former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama. He stated in 2015 that he wanted to prioritize the health care and its reach to the underserved population in rural and urban areas. Andy Slavitt worked on Obama’s Heroin Task Force and VP Biden’s Cancer Moonshot task force. He worked on the Affordable Care Act as well, until the final days of the Obama administration. After Trump’s inauguration, Andy Slavitt traveled around the country (often on his own dime) to explain what new administration’s repeal of the ACA would mean to regular Americans.
By this past February, 2020, Andy Slavitt was criticizing the Trump team’s preparedness for the incipient pandemic. In early March he wrote an open letter to the American governors warning them of the likely inadequacy of supplies of beds, ICU units, ventilators, and equipment due to the unstoppable spread of COVID19. Since then, Andy has been one of our country’s leading advocates for staying home, respecting the lockdown orders in place, wearing a mask to protect others from this frightening virus. He is a proponent of contact tracing.
I read his tweets and threads devotedly. They are realistic about how grim things are, but are well grounded in science, which is really the only way out of a pandemic. Science. This podcast is sponsored by Science.
The 5 Things that made my life better this week:
1. Sitting at my desk. For the moment, my desk is my happy place. First of all, it’s air conditioned the right way – I’m not in the direct line. Secondly, I am enjoying the privacy of the space. I can print recipes, read, and appear in zooms against the deep blue wall. Although you wouldn’t know from looking at it now, my desk is organized into areas – writing, receipts, bill paying, letters.
2. Frozen pastry crust. I’ve begun to bake in this pandemic, which is not something I ever did willingly before. I have easily avoided desserts for the last number of years, and now I’m baking. Am I doing it for my boyfriend, who has a sweet tooth? Maybe I’m doing it because I’m such a bad embroider, and I want so much to MAKE something. Frozen crust solves all my problems.
3. Reading offline. I know a lot of people are complaining that they cannot concentrate these days. Have you tried reading a magazine article or a short story on paper? I was recently accused of being like a 90-year-old because I don’t read e-books. Insult me all you want; when I’m reading, I’m in another place. I like paper. Sue me!
4. Throwing out dead pens. I know this is not a thing, but I’m making it a thing. I have four big jars of pens, pencils, highlighters, and markers. When a. pen, especially a good looking one seems to be out of ink, I have saved it, thinking it’ll write the next time. Consequently, I have four jars with probably 2 jars worth of working implements. What the hell? I’m about to throw them out. I actually can’t wait.
Dr. Fauci
5. Dr. Fauci and Science. What is it about REAL SCIENCE that scares the president and his band of governmental looters? What is it? Is it that they’ve ignored the truth and don’t want to get caught? Is it just blind lemming-like following their king? Science will provide a way through these terrible times – through Covid, through global warming, through shortages of power, food, forests, and clean water. Listen to the scientists. Read the science stories in your newspapers. It won’t hurt.
ANDY SLAVITT’S 5 THINGS
1. A morning with nothing I have to do
2. Friends who let me have their back and have mine
3. When the dog rests his head in my lap
4. When there are people who need me and I can help without doing a lot of work
5. A great 80s pop song
MORE ABOUT ANDY SLAVITT
In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-bubble-with-andy-slavitt/id1504128553
http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/in-the-bubble-with-andy-slavitt/
You can follow Andy on Twitter and Facebook at @ASlavitt and Instagram @AndySlavitt.
The 5 Things That Make Life Better podcast is recorded and produced at The Field in NYC. My team is Shpresa Oruci, Michael Porte, Sam Haft and Boco Haft