Public Spaces, Oil Plunges, Lockdown's Effect on Animals

Reimagining Our Public Spaces After the Pandemic (0:32) Guest: Andrew Manshel, Urban Space Public Developer, Author of “Learning From Bryant Park: Revitalizing Cities, Towns, and Public Spaces" It’s bad enough that the pandemic has forced us to keep our distance from one another. But having to stay inside is like rubbing salt in the wound. Americans are itching to get back into their parks and public squares when this is all over. That’ll be happening just as cities and counties face budget shortfalls from the pressures of the pandemic and economic recession. Urban planner Andrew Manshel says the best way to make public spaces work for a community is to focus on operating them well, not changing their design and adding expensive new structures. Could We Use Wastewater to Test for COVID-19? (20:22) Guest: Erica Gaddis, Director of the Utah Division of Water Quality. California officials have confirmed two deaths from COVID-19 took place in that state in mid-February, weeks before what we thought was the first documented US death. That means the coronavirus was circulating in the country earlier and wider than previously thought. And, the CDC director is warning that a second wave of COVID-19 next winter could be worse than the current one. Communities will need a way to detect new outbreaks as quickly as possible. And instead of testing everyone for COVID-19 every few weeks (which would be impossible), maybe they can just monitor what’s being flushed down sinks and toilets for traces of the virus? What Ever Happened to the Human Genome Project? (35:12) Guest: Ari Berkowitz, Professor of Biology, University of Oklahoma The Human Genome Project was supposed to transform modern medicine. Bill Clinton was president at the time, and he claimed it would “revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases.” One journalist even imagined that in 2020 we would all carry around personalized DNA cards so doctors could examine your genome to treat you. But the project was complete