Coronavirus

Omicron and COVID-19 Groundhog Day

Let's get it right this time.

|


It's talk of lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccines this Monday with Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Nick Gillespie. Deja vu? Nope, just the omicron variant. The editors also opine on school curriculum and Cyber Monday, all on today's Reason Roundtable.

2:18: How is the world reacting and how should the U.S. react to the new COVID-19 variant, omicron?

26:11: Weekly Listener Question: Starting this fall, students across the 23-campus California State University system are required to take an ethnic studies course in order to graduate. It's a result of A.B. 1460 which Gavin Newsom signed into law in August 2020. Students have a range of choices covering the historically disadvantaged points on the ethno-racial pentagon. However, all of these courses hew closely to a single state-defined model, so the course outcomes are largely the same. What's your take on a requirement that all graduates of a public university system take a specific course? Does your opinion depend on the content of the course, and if so, where do you draw the line? What's your opinion on the curriculum?

37:51: Reason Webathon details!

44:52: Thoughts on Cyber Monday, and the internet overall.

52:51: Media recommendations for the week.

This week's links:

Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Today's sponsors:

  • Imagine an app where you can get unlocked access to reliable news sites. An app that filters out fake news and clickbait but still shows you every story from multiple perspectives to counter bias. Where good news, as in positive stories, is highlighted—so you don't become despondent. And where journalists dig through news from around the world to find stories you wouldn't normally see. That's what an innovative Australian startup called Inkl has come up with. The service unlocks more than $12,000 of premium news for $100 a year. If you go now to inkl.com/podcast, they'll give you an additional 25 percent discount, so you can get a whole year's worth of headache-free news for just $75.
  • If you feel something interfering with your happiness or holding you back from your goals, BetterHelp is an accessible and affordable source for professional counseling. BetterHelp assesses your needs and matches you with a licensed therapist you can start talking to in under 24 hours, all online.

Audio production by Ian Keyser
Assistant production by Regan Taylor
Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve