How to shop safely at the grocery store amid the coronavirus pandemic
Wear a mask, but skip the gloves. Don’t sanitize the apples. And if you are older than 65, it’s probably best to still order your groceries online. As a food virologist, I hear a lot of questions from people about the coronavirus risks in grocery stores and how to stay safe while shopping for food […]
How drawing helped a Penn State professor cope with his mental illness and combat stigma
I’ve lived much of my life with anxiety and depression, including the negative feelings – shame and self-doubt – that seduced me into believing the stigma around mental illness: that people knew I wasn’t good enough, that they would avoid me because I was different or unstable, and that I had to find a way […]
A-lop-bam-boom: Little Richard’s saucy style still influences music and culture today
Little Richard was washing dishes at a Greyhound bus station in Macon, Georgia when he wrote “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” and “Long Tall Sally.” The singer, who died Saturday at 87, sent the songs as demos to Specialty Records. Soon he was having lunch with talent scout Robert “Bumps” Blackwell at a New […]
Small businesses still struggle to receive aid after hurricanes, coronavirus, and other disasters
The U.S. government has committed hundreds of billions of dollars to help small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic. But early reports suggest larger companies are gobbling up much of the aid, while many of the neediest ones – particularly those with only a few dozen employees – aren’t benefiting. For example, large, generally profitable companies […]
Alcohol sales spike as America drinks through coronavirus crisis, adding more health issues
In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has become easier to buy alcohol than toilet paper or eggs. Across the U.S., governors are terming alcohol sales an essential business and loosening restrictions to permit home delivery and carryout cocktails, throwing an economic lifeline to one group of small businesses. Are alcohol sales actually essential? […]
Why wearing face masks in public is now recommended to reduce spread of coronavirus
With the coronavirus pandemic quickly spreading, U.S. health officials have changed their advice on face masks and now recommend people wear cloth masks in public areas where social distancing can be difficult, such as grocery stores. But can these masks be effective? President Donald Trump, in announcing the change in the Centers for Disease Control […]
Bob Dylan’s JFK assassination song ‘Murder Most Foul’ connects to uncertainty of coronavirus pandemic
Over the past few weeks, the coronavirus has turned the country’s cultural spigot off, with sports suspended, museums closed, and movies postponed. But the virus hasn’t stopped Bob Dylan, who, on the evening of March 26, released “Murder Most Foul,” a 17-minute long song about the Kennedy assassination. [Despite the COVID-19 shutdown, Dylan is still […]
When restaurants close, Americans lose more than just a meal
Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted a video of himself on March 15 saying: “No more restaurants.” Seated in his palatial kitchen with two miniature horses, Whiskey and Lulu, beside him, the former California governor pronounced: “We don’t go out, we don’t go to restaurants. We don’t do anything like that any more.” Stay at home as much […]
How social distancing can ‘flatten the curve’ and help fight spread of coronavirus
As the coronavirus spreads into more and more communities, public health officials are placing responsibility on individuals to help slow the pandemic. Social distancing is the way to do it. Geriatrician Thomas Perls explains how this crucial tool works. What is social distancing? Social distancing is a tool public health officials recommend to slow the […]
When de-aging De Niro and Pacino, ‘The Irishman’ animators tried to avoid pitfalls of the past
If you thought 76-year-old Robert De Niro and 79-year-old Al Pacino were done starring in blockbuster gangster films, think again. Both assume lead roles in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which chronicles the life of hitman Frank Sheeran and labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa over several decades. Different actors weren’t cast to play the younger versions […]
