Listener supported WNYC Studios.

Brian Lairn on WNYC Studios. our last 15 minutes today. Okay, 14 minutes. We're going to open the phones on the question,

how do you beat the midwinter blues? And we're going to talk to a journalist who actually wrote about

this topic. Maybe there are some annual traditions that you follow this time of year, you know,

or in deepest darkest February here, and are there ways in the middle of winter

that you are able to, I don't know, gather with friends and family and participate in some

kind of group activity or something like that, or is it something you do on your own to beat the midwinter

blues if you get them? 212-433, WNYC, 212, 433, 9692. And the context, of course, is that yesterday

morning, Americans celebrated, if that's the right word,

Groundhog Day, waiting for some celebrity animals to decide whether we will experience another

six weeks of freezing winter or spring would arrive early. And the results, if you haven't heard,

were mixed. Punks of Tony Phil, maybe the most famous groundhog, predicted another

grueling six weeks of winter to a crowd of booze.

There's a shadow up here. Get ready for six more weeks of winter this year.

That was Vice President Dan McGinley of a Groundhogs Day organization somewhere in Pennsylvania.

However, hometown hero Staten Island Chuck said spring would come early.

For what it's worth, Chuck has an 85% accuracy rate, the most accurate of all ground hogs, according to federal statistics.

Phil ranked second to last, that is the Pennsylvania Punctsatoni Phil, ranked second to last

out of 18 groundhogs who make their local media to predict how quick warm weather is going to come. Now, this segment on

How You Beat the Midwinter Blues was inspired by an article in Slate that highlights one writer's

annual tradition. So joining us now is Hannah, Dr. Loeb, homepage editor for Slate and a freelance writer. Hi, Hannah. Welcome to WNYC. Hi, Brian. Thank you so much for

having me. So you beat back the winter blues with an annual tradition. Want to tell us about it?

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