Coronapod: The dangers of ignoring outbreaks in homeless shelters, plus coronavirus and drug abuse
Nature Podcast
podcast@nature.com
4.5 • 893 Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2020
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Outbreaks among those unable to isolate are spreading under the radar. We hear about the researchers scrambling to get a handle on the situation.
In this episode:
01:02 How is coronavirus spreading in group settings?
In order to successfully stop the coronavirus pandemic, researchers have to understand how the virus is spreading among groups unable to isolate. We hear about efforts to uncover levels of infection among homeless populations in the US, and the challenges associated with doing so.
News: Ignoring outbreaks in homeless shelters is proving perilous
16:49 One good thing
Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including a virtual tour of the world, dark humour, and experimental cocktails.
Rijksmuseum Masterpieces Up Close
20:04 Fears rise at US drug-abuse research institute
Nora Volkow is director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She tells us about her concerns for people living with substance-use disorders during the pandemic, and the damaging effect of lockdowns on NIDA’s research.
News: The psychiatrist at the centre of the opioid crisis
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to CoronaPod. In this show, we're going to bring you nature's take on the latest COVID-19 developments. |
| 0:09.1 | And we'll be speaking to experts around the world about research during the pandemic. |
| 0:15.4 | I really don't know how this plays out. We also don't know a ton about this, you know, virus. So there's so many open |
| 0:21.0 | questions. I just have a really hard time making predictions because I don't know how the outbreak's |
| 0:25.6 | going to change. Welcome to episode eight of CoronaPod. I'm Benjamin Thompson, once more |
| 0:35.0 | in the South London basement. And I'm joined, as always, by Noah Baker and Amy Maxman. |
| 0:41.0 | Noah and Amy, how are you both doing today? |
| 0:43.3 | I'm doing good. |
| 0:44.2 | Yeah, I've spent an awful lot of time in my little pillow fort today because I've been recording various bits of voiceovers for films and a few other things, so it's been quite a comforting, if not warm, day for me. |
| 0:56.3 | Yes, the duve fort does tend to raise the temperature. I'm actually in short right now. Just to paint some |
| 1:01.3 | pictures with words. All three of us are able to isolate, and I think we have been doing so for the |
| 1:07.1 | duration we were recording this show. But it's not necessarily the case for everyone and all populations. |
| 1:13.3 | And Amy, it's something you've been looking at this week |
| 1:15.0 | are groups who maybe can't help but congregate |
| 1:17.6 | and the efforts that people are putting in place to try and protect them from COVID-19. |
| 1:22.1 | Right. So we live in a way. |
| 1:24.1 | We're quite privileged to be able to isolate and do our podcasts from home. And I think a real |
| 1:30.0 | lack of attention has been put on people who can't isolate, who either have to go to essential |
| 1:36.5 | jobs that are quite dense or they live in shared places. These are, you know, like nursing homes |
| 1:43.4 | or homeless shelters. |
| 1:45.0 | So we know for a fact that the biggest outbreaks in the US has been in these sort of places, |
| 1:50.0 | in nursing homes, they've been in meatpacking plants, they've been in jails, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from podcast@nature.com, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of podcast@nature.com and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.