Just a note at the top, we recorded this about a week ago, and it being a fast-moving situation

means that already some of what we said is probably a little out of date. For example,

I'm now recording this pickup from under a blanket in my storage closet. And the markets are

struggling to say the least. We hope that this episode will be an opportunity to reflect on

the cultural effects of coronavirus

and take your mind off of it a little bit completely.

Hello, you're listening to Culture Call, a transatlantic conversation from the Financial Times.

I'm Giseldda Murray Brown in London.

And I'm Lila Raptopoulos in New York.

Coming up on today's episode.

A lot of writing about women having casual sex is kind of associated with self-hatred and disgust.

And I wanted to think about it in a different way that actually

there are lots of middle-aged women who go to hotels who have sex with men who don't hate

themselves as a result of it.

Today, things are a bit different. I am in my living room at home with our podcast producer, Lena,

and we have created for ourselves a fortress of pillows and duvets in order to try and make a makeshift studio here

because the FT's actual audio studio is closed as a coronavirus precaution.

I'm like laughing over here, even though it's not funny, but it all feels so absurd and kind

of spooky. I am in the New York newsroom, in our audio studio. There is almost nobody here

but me. Our office is also closing soon as a coronavirus precaution. And yeah, it's feeling a little apocalyptic around here.

We're going to be discussing exactly this today, how coronavirus is already affecting life and culture,

and also kind of thinking about what its longer term impacts might be.

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