The Current

The Current for May 7, 2020

Today on The Current: U.S. communities hardest hit by COVID-19; The future of public space; Documentary - An Urgent Matter: In prison during the pandemic; How we perceive time in lockdown; Cruise ship crews stranded at sea; Elon Musk and Grimes’ new baby X Æ A-12; Long-term care facilities and COVID-19.
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Full Episode Transcript

Today on The Current

Ready or not, the U.S. is revving up to reopen. We hear from places and communities hardest hit by COVID-19, from the Navajo Nation, to Wisconsin's meatpacking industry, to the African American community.

Then, as part of our series The Fix, we look at the future of public space. What are the weaknesses exposed by the pandemic, and where can we use our creativity to build even greater cities when all this is over.

Plus, from CBC Radio's The Doc Project, we hear the story of a young man jailed in Ontario while awaiting trial. He's now trying to get out of prison before COVID-19 gets in.

Are you losing time in lockdown? Finding it hard to stop the days blurring into one another? We discuss our perception of time, and how to anchor ourselves in this unsettled period.

Then, countries have closed their ports to cruise ships, leaving thousands of vessels — and their workers — out to sea. We speak with Canadian singer Michelle Joly, stranded and unsure how she can get home.

Plus, are you talking to your neighbours more as the lockdown continues? Montreal artist and filmmaker Marites Carino has taken it a step further: she's on her balcony with a microphone taped to a broom, interviewing her neighbours. She tells us more.

Also, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his partner, the Canadian singer Grimes, have named their new baby X Æ A-12. We talk to a naming expert about the choice, and the trend among parents to choose more unusual names.

And finally, we talk to a panel of medical experts about the number of COVID-19-related deaths in Canada's nursing homes and how outbreaks like this can be avoided.