Episode 70: Impressions from the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the lives of people all across the world were forever changed when a disease known as COVID-19 swept the world. With this one global event came many changes. A new group of words entered our daily vocabulary: social distancing, asymptomatic, new normal. Overnight, people saw drastic changes in their day-to-day lives, from wearing masks, to learning to use Zoom, to hearing the phrase “in these unprecedented times” practically every day. Besides these inconveniences though, the pandemic also had an immense emotional impact on many, as people lost both jobs and loved ones.  

This month, we’re highlighting some of the experiences of Oklahomans who lived through the pandemic from our new project titled “Impressions from the Pandemic: Oklahomans Reflect on COVID-19.” We will hear from educators, students, and healthcare workers as they describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives. We’ll also hear from Dr. Rebecca Kaplan, assistant professor and historian of medicine and public health at OSU, about what she hopes were lessons learned from the pandemic.