Hey everyone, Artie here. So today we're finally unlocking an episode that's gotten probably

more requests to unlock than any other before it, which is our huge show from the end of last year

called How Liberals Killed Masking. And we chose today to unlock it for a really specific reason,

which is today, February 9th, is the one-year anniversary of the day, or really

the couple of days, in February 2022, when a group of Democratic Party governors announced the end

of most of the last remaining mask mandates. So the episode you're about to hear talks about the

context that preceded that event, which we also talked about at length

in the companion episode to this one, COVID-year-3. So if you've heard this one before, please send it

to your friends. If you haven't, then consider becoming a patron at patreon.com slash deathpanel pod to be

the first to hear episodes just like this. Patrons will see you in the patron feed on Monday to

talk about the declaration of the

end of the public health emergency, May 11th. And for everyone else, we will see you next week.

The scarlet letter of this pandemic is the mask. It's inconvenient. It's annoying. And it reminds us

that we're in the middle of a pandemic. We view our masks not only as a

form of protection, but as a statement that we believe in science. And I think on both sides,

it's ended up going beyond where the science should allow it to go. Doesn't the air just

smell so much sweeter without our masks? Doesn't it feel brighter without the shadow of the

virus, darkening our every thought? We will rebuild our economy, reclaim our lives, and get back to normal.

We'll laugh again. We'll know joy again and we'll smile again.

You know, and now see one other smile.

Look at the smiles on other people's faces.

Better days are ahead.

...