It's the Brian Laira show on WNYC.

Good morning, everyone.

And for this Memorial Day, we've put together several past conversations that we think have a special resonance on this holiday that while it

unofficially marks the beginning of summer, began as a way, of course, to honor the Union

war dead after the Civil War and remains designated for mourning those who died fighting for this

country. But many people take the opportunity to reflect on anyone who they've lost and

others had for the beach. Whatever you plan to do today, we hope you enjoy these conversations

with Jay Kasby and Kang, John Meacham, and George Decay, plus a visit to Hart Island. You know,

Hart Island that is New York's public cemetery. And we start here with this reflection on the aftermath of the pandemic,

in which, of course, we lost so many, asking,

is it possible that we've learned some of the wrong lessons about American culture from the experience?

In a New York Times op-ed, NYU sociologist Eric Kleinenberg writes that people tend to talk about an epidemic of loneliness that the pandemic spawned.

Kleinenberg says it's really a loss of trust we should be talking about.

That theory is part of a new book by Kleinenberg called 2020, One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything

Change. The city is New York. We'll hear about some of the seven people and talk about

what changed that we should still be talking about in 2024, trust and other things. Yes,

2020, the year that brought an economic crash precipitated by COVID-19.

2020, the year George Floyd was murdered by a police officer.

2020, the year that President Biden first went head-to-head with Donald Trump.

Eric Kleinenberg is also Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU. And again, the book title is

2020, One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed. Eric, thanks for coming on. Welcome

back to WNYC. Thank you. It's nice to be here. And I want to start, even though this is so personal,

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