This is Squawk Pod. I'm C. NBC producer Katie Kramer. Today on our podcast. The Democratic National Convention begins today 77 days before an unusual presidential election.

Writer and fellow podcaster Arthur Brooks has hope for a politically divided nation.

It's actually these crucibles that make Americans wake up and say,

what is the country that we want to be and it is not a

country where we hate our neighbor because he votes Republican or because she boasts Democrat.

The pandemic has ground most travelers for the foreseeable future and airlines are still stuck on the tarmac analyst Seth Kaplan

There was a period a couple months ago where demand seemed to be rebounding rather quickly and where there was this possibility at least that you know maybe

things wouldn't be so bad I mean once all the what's the new wave of COVID

started that very clearly was out in the picture.

And coronavirus shining a light on inequality, former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings

Blake.

I think this pandemic has laid bare what many in the health circles and government circles have known that there's gross

disparities in health. It's Monday, August 17 in this very bizarre, very long

2020. It's going to get better. It absolutely is going to get

better. You don't know that. You don't know that. Squack pod begins right now.

And good morning and welcome to Squack Box here on C.N.

I'm Scott Wopner along with Joe Kernan.

Becky and Andrew are off this morning.

Joe, it's good to see you and be with you.

Really? The judge, dude, how are you? A, what are you, are you said, what have you got, do you have like chambers there or like is a ballif around or I mean what are you equipped to do if

if push comes to shove the day you got a jury room you got I mean what do you have

at home I've got some things here. What do you got? I have Rusty the

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