BCVoice Midweek Radio Show March 25, 2020
Transcript
[00:00:27] [Music Intro]
BRANDON: Good evening to the 2-2-8-1-2 and welcome to the BCVoice Midweek Radio Show. My name is Brandon Wells, co-station manager here at BCVoice. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, Bridgewater campus events, lectures and activities have been shut down until further notice. But we are dedicated to still bring you the most quality content without interference. The many broadcasters of BCvoice.org have recorded segments for air and we have all your news, sports and entertainment updates along with so much more here for the next hour. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
[00:01:02]
JUSTIN: What’s up, guys? This is Justin Rogers and Zack Rogers. And we are going to go over the national sports for this past week. Last week we went over all of the NFL transactions that happened because NFL free agency started with a not a lot of sports news going on right now, except for all the cancelations and this week didn’t have really a lot of cancelations except for one. Zack, what’s the cancelation?
[00:01:28]
ZACK: It is the 2020 Summer Olympics, which is not technically canceled and like officially it’s postponed. According to USA Today, the 2020 Summer Olympics will be moved to a date beyond 2020, but no later than summer 2021, which is like, I would assume it’s fine because there’s not a lot of like worldwide events going on in 2021.
[00:01:54]
JUSTIN: Yeah. Because there’s not a lot of summer events going on 2021. Like you said, you have men’s soccer World Cup happening in 2022 and then the Winter Olympics also happening in 2022. So, I mean, this is a perfect time for this to happen because there’s now a whole lot going on in the summer of 2021.
[00:02:12] And other news of this kind of goes along with entertainment a little bit. NFL released NFL game pass for free through May 31st. So basically, what this is saying is that NFL game pass is somewhere where you can watch games that from NFL games from 2009 on for free now until May 31st.
[00:02:36] So there’s a lot of games I’ve already been watching—you watch full games or you can watch condensed games.
ZACH: As I was gonna say, I’ve been spending most of my free time watching the NFL games, especially mostly condensed because I had like two hours to spend. Right. But mean, it’s been nice going to watch back like the Super Bowl from late 2010, 2011 and some of the like games you always forget. But then they’re right there. Condensed for ya, so there you go.
[00:03:03]
JUSTIN: Yeah. And it’s kind of cool just to have something to do as well because there’s not a lot of live sports. And also, if you’re just looking for sports to be watching, I mean, again, NFL game pass is great. But also there’s a lot of like NBA, their YouTube page releases a lot of full games, a lot of other YouTube pages for like the NHL. Again, the NBA and NFL—they’re releasing a lot of full games for free on YouTube. So if you just want to watch in sports, those are some great places to find some full games sports to watch. (Yep.) And now we’re going to go over some of the key trades and key free agent acquisitions that happened in the NFL. We talked about a lot of them last week. But we want to just go over a couple of the key ones that happened since we recorded last Wednesday. One of the big ones for me—I mean, being a local D.C. sports fan—one of the big ones is Quentin Dunbar was traded from the Washington Redskins to the Seattle Seahawks, and all they got was a fifth round pick return in 2020.
[00:04:07]
ZACH: As a Redskins fan. Why? Just why? You already got rid of all year cornerbacks and safeties that weren’t like necessary for you to keep like second like third stringers. But Quinton Dunbar was arguably the best defensive back all last year and like the previous couple seasons. So why would you trade him for almost nothing?
[00:04:26]
JUSTIN: Yeah. Seattle Seahawks, I mean, they’re showing up. They already have Griffin at the corner and now they got good opposite corner. It makes no sense for the Washington Redskins because you just got Kendall Fuller in free agency, and you had a guy to be right across from him and Quinton Dunbar and you just trade him for a fifth-round draft pick. I know they just got rid of a fifth-round draft pick to get Kyle Allen from the Carolina Panthers. But I mean, you’re pretty much just downgrading your draft pick.
[00:04:51]
ZACH: Yeah. And I’ve been hearing—well, it’s kind of off topic—but Kyle Allen might compete for the starting job with Dwayne Haskins.
[00:04:58]
JUSTIN: Ahh, that could be interesting. And another interesting and re-sign is Arik Armstead has resigned with the San Francisco 49ers on a five-year deal worth up to $85 million, according to Ian Rappaport (nfl.com), with $48.5 million of that guaranteed. So that especially with trading one of your guys, that was huge on the defensive line to the Indianapolis Colts, which we talked about last week. This is huge, that you lock up this guy and that’s probably one of the reasons why they traded on their other defensive end away.
[00:05:33]
ZACH: Yeah, well, I mean, it makes sense and their defense is already still stacked and I don’t see them like going down any of any rankings because of this. Their defense is still pretty solid [and their] offense is solid. But even though going into a little bit Emmanuel Sanders.
[00:05:50]
JUSTIN: Emmanuel Sanders—he signed with the New Orleans Saints on a pretty small deal.
[00:06:00]
ZACH: I believe it’s two years, $16 million, as Palmer reported.
[00:06:06]
JUSTIN: Yeah. And this is a big deal for the New Orleans Saints, because right now in the past two years, they’ve been looking for a number two guy across from Michael Thomas. And they’ve been trying with guys like Ted Gin and trying to get some tight ends in there. But they haven’t really found that guy. And I mean, what more would you want if you’re Emmanuel Sanders, then to go to the New Orleans Saints with a Hall of Fame quarterback and Drew Brees?
[00:06:30] And you were so close to a Super Bowl last year. I mean, the Saints, they’re one of those teams that look like they may be competing for a Super Bowl. And one of those quarterbacks that Drew Brees will be competing against twice a year, I mean, you can’t talk about him enough is Tom Brady. So Tom Brady I mean, we talked about him last week signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he officially signed a two-year deal worth $50 million, which was reported that he might ask for $30 million a year. So this is a little bit of a pay cut, then what was reported for him asking. But I mean, right now it seems like from all the reporters, especially on NFL.COM, ESPN, CBS Sports—they’re all saying that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to be a contender next year, at least for the NFC South. And it’s going to be pretty much Tom Brady and Drew Brees the two quarterbacks are really going to be duking it out for the NFC South championship.
[00:07:20]
ZACH: Well, the deal also includes a no trade clause and a no tag clause. So he’s there for two years no matter what. He’s gonna be there for that second year. So we’ll see what he does with that. He has good weapons with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. So, I mean, we’ll see what he can do with that.
[00:07:39]
JUSTIN: And another veteran that was released by a team he’s been on for a long time: Chris Harris was released by the Denver Broncos, but then gets picked up by the Los Angeles Chargers, agreeing to a two-year deal with $17 million. That could have a max value of $20 million. And this is a pretty good deal, I mean, you already have Derwin James in the backend, and he was hurt pretty much all last year. And really, I mean, this is a good deal for his defense because you already have Joey Bosa on the end as an edge rusher. And really, you’re losing a lot on offense with Philip Rivers leaving. So you’re gonna have to rely on that defense a lot. Chris Harris, a veteran. I mean, this is a young team on defense. And you need someone who is a veteran to be on this defense. I think Chris Harris has a great deal.
[00:08:23]
ZACH: Speaking of the Chargers offense, you don’t think Teddy Bridgewater—or not Teddy Bridgewater, Tyrod Taylor can hold the Chargers up?
[00:08:30]
JUSTIN: I think Tyrod Taylor can hold the Chargers up for four weeks like he did in Cleveland. And then whoever they draft as a rookie quarterback is gonna take over. It’s going to be the same situation that Tyrod Taylor was in, in Cleveland a couple of years ago.
[00:08:42]
ZACH: I believe that also happened in Buffalo, too.
[00:08:45]
JUSTIN: Yeah.
[00:08:46] And so speaking of the Cleveland Browns, their rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, were least Javon Hargrave, the defensive tackle, and he agreed to a three-year deal worth $39 million with the Philadelphia Eagles. Man, hang this guy with a guy like Fletcher Cox. That’s gonna be dangerous for the front four for the Philadelphia Eagles.
[00:09:06]
ZACH: That’s going to be insane. Their defenses are—their defensive line is already stacked. You just add another weapon to that. And let’s just, let’s just say this NFC East team like division is not good. Yeah. And so if you add keep adding weapons to the defense where offense is not really key right now in the NFC East besides the Cowboys. They’re going to do some damage.
[00:09:30]
JUSTIN: We talked about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier. They resigned Jason Pierre-Paul to a two-year $27 million contract. Jason Pierre-Paul was one of those underrated players for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last couple of years. He started under-12 games last year and still had six sacks, I believe. So he was dominating still. I mean, with the amount of time that he played for that team. So it’s no wonder that they sent him on a two-year deal, resigning him, and then Ndamukong Suh. Yeah. Also resigning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one year, $8 million deal. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the best rush defense in the NFL, and it was because of Ndamukong Suh. So now you have Suh, now you have Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett
[00:10:12]
ZACH: Shaq Barrett last week so.
[00:10:13]
JUSTIN: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are looking like a team that could possibly win the NFC South, possibly get a by next year. But I mean, you have to be the number one seed now because while the CBA rules. That were changed, but, you know, possibly even get that sixth, even the seventh seed now.
[00:10:29]
ZACH: Oh, yeah, they could, they could definitely make a playoff run. But the Panthers release Joe McCoy, and then he signed with the Cowboys on a three-year eighteen-point $3 million contract with around 20 million inaudible. He did, he did some damage with the Bucs a couple of years back, but he didn’t really do anything to note with the Panthers. So we’ll see how this works out for the Cowboys.
[00:10:54]
JUSTIN: And again, we want to keep it in the NFC South, talking about Malcolm Jenkins being released from the Eagles. Who he won a Super Bowl with. And then he goes back to the Saints, who we also won a Super Bowl with in his second year with the Saints on a four-year $32 million deal. And this just I mean, again, cements for me why I would put the Saints as my favorite to at least get the number one seed and the by in the NFC. You resign Drew Brees, you have all the talent that you need. Now you bring back Malcolm Jenkins, who’s already familiar with the team and the organization, and he’s just hungry and thirsty for one more Super Bowl. And I think that he can possibly bring it back for the Saints.
[00:11:31]
ZACH: You could argue that the Saints are like an old team. They have a lot of old prospects, but they have good old prospects. You have Drew Brees, you have Emmanuel Sanders, you have Malcolm Jenkins and plus you’ve got young talent there with Alvin Kamara and you got Michael Thomas.
[00:11:44]
JUSTIN: Yeah. And we are also going to continue to keep it in the NFC South talking about Todd Gurley being signed by the Atlanta Falcons. So here’s a inaudible. Not really surprising because the Los Angeles Rams didn’t want to keep that contract for Todd Gurley. So they got rid of him and really took a massive pay cut signing with the Atlanta Falcons on looking to make about $6 million deals. And but has a $7.5 million bonus. So, I mean, $13.5 million for one year. I mean, he still gets a payday, but not as much as if he would have stayed with the Rams. Releasing Devonte Freeman was left a huge hole for this Falcons offense, so now you have Todd Gurley in the backfield, Matt Ryan throwing the ball. You have Julio Jones on the outside and to counter really also on the outside. And then you traded for a tight end at last week. This offense could be one the most dangerous offenses in the NFL with the NFC South being very competitive.
[00:12:48] And a couple more free agents we want to go over the former Falcons tight and Austin Hooper signed with the Cleveland Browns last week, those one free agent that we didn’t get to talk about last week. And with that free agent signing, it was a good free agent signing for the Browns. But you also have David Njoku, who was looking pretty good until his injury last year. And now, right now, I mean, it doesn’t we don’t know what’s going to really happen with David Njoku, but this is a big weapon that Baker Mayfield can use. And one more free agent we want to go over is Melvin Gordon signing with the Broncos. And we talk about Chris Harris, a former Bronco signing with the Chargers and other former Charger Melvin Gordon and signing with the Broncos. And from my understanding, from multiple sources, it was an understanding that the only reason he really signed with the Broncos was so he could play the Chargers twice a year.
[00:13:42]
ZACH: Well yeah, I mean the Chargers have [inaudible]. They didn’t, they don’t need Melvin Gordon because he hasn’t been well, he held out umm I believe two years ago? Mmhmm. He held out two years ago and it didn’t do much like productively for the offense last year. So I, yeah, he’s trying to get revenge on the Chargers who just released them that he wasn’t a good prospect to go running back. So he’s trying to stick it to them.
[00:14:05]
JUSTIN: And to end our segment we are just gonna go over five key free agents that have not yet been signed. Most of these are going to be quarterbacks, but we’ll just go over them are quick. So Jamis Winston has not yet been signed by anyone currently. I mean, it seemed like that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to put the franchise tag on him and they decided to put it on their cornerstone in Shaq Barrett on the defense. Yeah. So what is it? Where is it? Where is James Watson going to possibly be signed?
[00:14:32]
ZACH: The QB market It’s just tough right now because either teams already have a QB, starting QB, or they’re looking for QB’s in the draft, which there are tons of QB prospects in the draft. So if he goes anywhere, it’s gonna be as a backup or he could go the Patriots. But that’s just rough. If he does go the Patriots because they’re looking at Jared Stidham.
[00:14:56]
JUSTIN: Yeah. And now also Cam Newton just got released by the Carolina Panthers as of yesterday and Cam Newton I mean, we’re talking about the quarterbacks right now that are free agents. It’s hard for them to really get signed to me. You have a lot of these teams like the New England Patriots resigning Brian Hoyer. So they’re quarterback spot is filled. You do have a couple of teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars who could bring in a quarterback like Cam Newton, like Jamis Winston, who can compete with Gardner Minshew for the starting job or just look to light a fire under him. Or you could have a team like the Los Angeles Rams and signing one of these quarterbacks kind of light a fire under a guy like Jared Goff as well. We talked about him earlier, Devonte Freeman released by the Atlanta Falcons, where is a team that you could possibly see him going?
[00:15:47]
ZACH: Ahh dude that’s rough because there are a lot of teams, there’s a lot of running back acquisitions and especially on this in this free agency. I honestly don’t know if he’ll stay in the NFC because there are a lot of teams that signed running backs in the NFC. But he could go, I’m thinking he could be behind Leonard Fournette. Yeah, with the Jaguars.
[00:16:09]
JUSTIN: I can see him behind Leonard Fournette, but I can also see I mean the Eagles have Myles Sanders and they need another running back, they just released a couple of guys, including Jordan Howard, who was signed by the Miami Dolphins. So I can see him being a running back tandem with the young guy from Penn State, Myles Sanders.
[00:16:27]
ZACH: That could be interesting.
[00:16:29]
JUSTIN: And staying in the NFC today Jadeveon Clowney was released by the Seattle Seahawks. So he’s still a free agent, but it looks like he’s going to be reassigned by the Seahawks. And lastly, Logan Ryan is a free agent, still was on that dominating Titans defense last year, but still a free agent. I’m one of those free agent corners that could be signed kind of like a Chris Harris, who can provide you some depth and also provide you some veteran leadership.
[00:16:59]
ZACH: Yeah, definitely. And I believe that wraps it up for our segment.
JUSTIN: Yeah, that’s going to wrap it up for our segment. Continue to listen here on BC Voice Midweek Radio. We thank you guys for listening and stay safe out there.
ZACH: Yep. And we’ll see you all next week.
[00:17:16]
ISAAC MILLER: Good evening, Bridgewater, and welcome to the national news section of our midweek radio show. I am Isaac and I’m going to be taking you through all the headlines we have this week. Of course, the coronavirus has kind of been dominating everything news related, but we’re going to start with something different just to keep a happy tone.
So first things first. Bernie Sanders is planning to participate in the April Democratic debate. His campaign announced Tuesday that he plans to participate in the next Democratic debate, which was originally scheduled to take place sometime in April. Now, of course, with the current virus going on, that may change as the Democratic Committee National Committee had previously planned for a debate in April. However, they have yet to release a scheduled date. A media partner or a site host. All of which is usually announced often a month or more in advance of the debate. As I mentioned, the uncertainty surrounding the debate, much like the rest of the Democratic primary, which is seeing multiple election postpone, is due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the United States. Now, there is no guarantee that a debate will take place in April and Sochi Hinojosa, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, has not confirmed whether a debate will take place in April or be moved back in accordance to most of the primary calendar. Now, as mentioned, with most of those moving back, a lot of states with primaries scheduled to occur soon in the next month or so, have moved their contests back to June 2nd, which will now feature nine states and Washington, D.C., making it the second largest single day for delegates behind Super Tuesday.
Now, we can’t really escape the coronavirus, so I’m going to start out with President Trump. He mentioned that he wants the U.S., quote, “opened up by Easter” in a virtual town hall. On Fox News on Tuesday, he stated that he wanted the country opened up by Easter with hopes of lifting many restrictions on public gatherings and alike. The president’s comments came at a time when many leaders in the United States and around the world were pushing for measures in the opposite direction. India on Tuesday announced a complete lockdown of the country’s 1.3 billion citizens, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that cases of COVID-19, were doubling in his state every three days, with a peak expected in mid to late April, with over 140,000 New Yorkers expected to require hospitalization at that time.
Now, during the Fox appearance, President Trump said, quote, “You are going to lose a number of people to the flu, but you’re going to lose more people by turning a country into a massive recession or depression. You’re going to have suicides by the thousands. You’re going to have all sorts of things happen. You’re going to have instability. You can’t just come in and say, let’s close up the United States of America. The biggest the most successful country in the world, by far,” end quote. Now, despite the president’s comments, many health experts have discouraged such an early return to normalcy in the country, with many, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been present throughout much of the administration’s daily briefings regarding the virus. Expecting a peak of infections to occur around the beginning of May.
[00:20:34]
Now, while the president stated that Americans can get back to work while still practicing social distancing. Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has stated that citizens riding in public transit cases continue to rise would cause, quote, “the virus to surge. Many will fall ill and there will be more deaths.” Now, the administration officials and top Democrats, on a brighter note, have reached a deal on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package. Now officials from the administration, as well as party leaders from both sides of the Senate, have come to an agreement on the terms of the largest economic stimulus plan in American history. And they announced that early Wednesday morning. There are five key components to the bill, the first of which are direct payments of $1,200 to every American taxpayer, making up to $75,000 per year with a payment size diminishing for those making up to $99,000 per year. And anybody making more than that money amount of money annually will receive no payment. Families will also receive an additional $500 for every child in their household.
The second key component is an expansion of unemployment benefits. The will have their duration increased by an additional 13 weeks and the benefits will be enhanced for the next four months. In addition to that, freelancer’s furloughed workers and gig workers such as people like Uber drivers are also now going to be eligible for unemployment insurance. The third key component in the stimulus package is a are federally guaranteed loans being offered to small businesses who pledge not to lay off their workers during their pandemic. These loans will be available until June 30th for the businesses to claim. The fourth component in this has been the most contentious that held up the bill for quite a while. Over $500 billion in loans that will be made available for distressed companies and corporations during the pandemic with $75 billion of that money going to industry specific loans for companies like hotels and airlines. Finally, there will also be $100 billion paid out for hospitals and health systems across the country, with additional billions, more specifically for protective equipment, for health care workers, for an expansion of testing supplies and for the construction of new healthcare facilities.
Now, the proposal has been going ongoing in negotiations for about a week now, and the proposal had been held up by Senate Democrats due largely to a lack of oversight originally proposed for the $500 billion in corporate loans as originally written. The recipients of these loans would not have to be disclosed for six months, and the loans would essentially be given out at the discretion of Treasury Secretary Steve Manoogian. However, under the text of the bill that is been agreed upon, the recipients of the loans are now going to be immediately disclosed and there will be an a congressionally appointed board to monitor the loans and the companies using them. The Senate has not yet passed the bill, however. It is expected to pass the bill later on Wednesday, with the House of Representatives expected to pass the bill quickly, soon afterwards. Neither side is really at this point arguing against the bill. They want to get it done to get the economy the boost that it needs and hopefully get everything back on track soon.
Now, I want to leave off with an update on the state of the coronavirus in the United States, as we know right now. As of Wednesday morning, there are now over 50,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States. And there have been at least 544 deaths reported due to the disease at this time last week for reference. There were only 5,881 confirmed cases in the United States and 107 deaths. Now, the large spike in cases is partially due to the more widespread availability of testing in the US, specifically in New York state, which has been moving very, very aggressively to test as many citizens as it possibly can. And the caseload is expected to continue increasing rapidly in the coming weeks. Now, as always, I just want to say, everyone, if you can stay home, if you don’t have urgent business that you need to attend to. Please do not leave your house. This is as there is no cure and largely no treatment for the disease right now. The only way to prevent the spread and to keep those who are at risk of potentially facing severe difficulties or even death from this disease. The only way to keep them safe is to stop the spread. And the only way to do that is to stay home. If you must go out, try and social distance. So 6-feet from anybody around you, try to wash your hands as much as possible. Avoid touching your face after you touch any surfaces and make sure to just be cleanly in your habits. As of now, this is really the only way to prevent the disease from spreading further. And that needs to be our number one priority for any population in the U.S. that is at risk. Because even if you personally are not an at-risk population, odds are someone you know is at risk. So again, everybody stay safe. Thanks for listening and enjoy the rest of the show.
[00:26:14]
JOE CARON: Good evening, BCVoice listeners. I am Joe Caron. I’ll be taking you through all of the recent entertainment news, starting with music this past week—the week of March 20th—Alysha Keyes’s album, it was self-titled called Alysha. It was scheduled to drop on March 20th.
[00:26:31] However, that has been delayed to May 15th. I’m sure that has something to do with coronavirus but I’m not sure in what way. The country stars, country star Kelsey Ballerina’s self-titled album has come out this past week. That’s her third studio album and The Weekend dropped after hours this past week. That consists of 14 tracks and it’s a mix of 80’s synth pop.
[00:27:00] That and with that theme, he’s been going along lately and it includes songs including Heartless and Blinded by the Light. This coming week, The the Week of March 27th Five seconds of summer releases their album Calm, that is their fourth studio album. And Pearl Jam, who’s been making some solid rock music for about 30 years now, comes out with their album Gigaton.
[00:27:26] Now on to movies.
[00:27:29] Movies out right now include “Onward,” the Disney Pixar movie about and it’s like a coming of age movie. “The Invisible Man”—
[00:27:39] I think that one’s pretty self-explanatory—It’s kind of a horror-thriller about the lady who’s stalked by an invisible man.
[00:27:47] “The Hunt”—that one, I’m not really sure what it’s about, but I’ve heard it’s a mix of horror-thriller and a little bit of comedy. And “Bloodshot” is out right now that’s based off of popular comic book.
[00:28:04] It’s about a soldier who dies in combat only to be brought back to life by a corporation and he’s given superpowers. The “Call of the Wild” is out right now featuring Harrison Ford. That’s based off of the renowned Jack London book about a wolf. “Emma” is out right now. That’s,
[00:28:29] it’s like an 18th century England movie about—
[00:28:34] it’s like a love drama, kind of like a romcom. “Sonic the Hedgehog” is out right now about the really fast running hedgehog. And the other movie news:
[00:28:49] “Wonder Woman 1984” was scheduled to release in June. I know that was highly anticipated by a lot of comic book fans. Wonder Woman what is arguably one of the most favorite DC movies up to this point. So Wonder Woman 1984 is pushed back due to the Coronavirus.
[00:29:13] So we’ll see where it gets pushback to from here.
[00:29:18] Now, in terms of movie theaters, according to Yahoo! News, more than 500 theaters have opened back up in China. As you might have heard, coronavirus numbers have kind of plateaued in China. They’ve gone over the curve. So 500 theaters have opened back up. That’s a small portion. But nonetheless, it’s, that’s a significant number after because earlier they had all of their theaters closed down due to the Coronavirus.
[00:29:52] And according to The Palm Beach Post, as of March 18th, in the US, major theater chains, including AMC, Regal, KAB, CMX and Cinemark have all closed down as of now.
[00:30:10] So unless you live near a particularly stubborn dollar theater, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find an open movie theater near your house right now.
[00:30:21] However, thankfully, Fandango, the popular ticket buying service, they have other offering service, service in which they are streaming movies that were in theaters recently. So you can watch movies that were theaters from the comfort of your home. And those ticket prices are starting at $20 a piece. So very opportunistic of Fandango.
And now onto TV. And it’s in terms of TV. TV Guide provided some recommendations for shows to watch. If you’re nervous about coronavirus and those include “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” which is on Netflix, and that was released on January 22nd so very interesting timing.
[00:31:14] And then PBS has also released several documentaries and new shows about the virus, including “Confronting Coronavirus.” PBS NewsHour special that aired March 19th. I’m sure you can find them on their website. And they also produced NOVA, what we know and don’t know about the Coronavirus that so provides us with some practical advice on how to stay safe. It’s kind of educational about the virus. And yes, so thank you, PBS, for helping to educate us about what’s going on right now. And that is all I have for you. For entertainment. And goodnight, Bridgewater, stay safe.
[00:31:54]
JUSTIN: What’s up, everybody? This is Squawk Talk yet again. I’m Justin Rogers.
[00:32:01]
HOLDEN: I’m Holden Andrews.
[00:32:03]
JUSTIN: And again, two whacky guys talking about some just wacky stuff going on while we are at home during that Coronavirus. So, Holden, have you been lately?
[00:32:15]
HOLDEN: I’m pretty good. I got to say, this is such an odd experience just ya know talking to my laptop without you sitting right next to me. I gotta say, I miss being in the studio, but yeah, I mean, I’ve been I’ve been pretty good. It’s, it was a big, big learning curve going into all this. But I think I’m I think I’m on the other side. How’ve you been?
[00:32:37]
JUSTIN: Oh, I’ve been pretty good again. Kind of like you. It was a big shock for me not only to have the announcement that we were gonna be at home for a month, but then the announcement that we were gonna have to be at home for the rest of this semester and have to do online classes. And then for both you and me, I mean, were both seniors. So what is commencement even look like? What is graduation look like? So, you know, the shock of that, you know, wore off and know everything’s gonna be OK. I mean, it happens. And, you know, to me, it just seems like we’re kind of witnessing history right now because I think something like this is gonna happen for a while or really has happened.
[00:33:14]
HOLDEN: Yeah, I agree. And I guess my first question is, you know, what was your—Was there a moment where you just felt, you know, you know, things are going to be OK? Was our moment where you realized like, you know, it’s all right that I’m not going to be a school or it’s all right that, you know, I’m going to have to start online learning like did that ever, when did it click for you, I guess.
[00:33:33]
JUSTIN: I think for me. Well, the shock really came to me when we both got that email, the second email from Bushman saying were out in, you know, most of it was just, you know, wouldn’t be able to see any of my friends that I’ve had for the last four years, you know, until possibly commencement and everything. So I think the shock of that finally wore off on the next day, just starting to get in a groove on with some of my classes and figuring out like what those look like. I think the biggest thing was kind of just knowing and trusting that, okay, like all these things that are happening for a reason. Like A, they’re happening for a reason and B, like there’s nothing we can really do about it. So what’s the point of worrying about like what’s going to happen and like being frustrated with classes and stuff? I mean, that happens. And again, like, I think it comforts me a lot because I mean, the professors are in the same boat as we are, pretty much, because like this is their first time doing online classes and everything to just as we again, this is our first time doing classes online. So I think again, the first time I got comfort was just knowing that, you know what? Like, yeah, this is a little bit frustrating, but I mean, I’m blessed to have professors that are on the same page with me that are able to answer my questions and that are able to just work with me as much as possible, just like we’re working with them as much as possible through all this. What about you, bro?
[00:35:10]
HOLDEN: I think for me, it really came, like you said and you know, it was a day or two after we got that email and, you know, I was just thinking, think about how like sweet like commencement is going to be now, you know? Yes. It would have been nice to have it. You know, at the end of our senior year, after senior week, after all the you know, all those activities we would have gotten to do. But I mean, if we think about it now, like put it in the context of, like you said, you know, we’re living in crazy times right now and, you know, being able to hopefully, eventually, go back and see everybody again and just have this great day where, you know, we all we celebrate our accomplishments. We, you know, our friends are there, our families are there. You know, everybody important. You know, we’ll hopefully be there. And I think, you know, that’s that realizing that, realizing that, you know, this is probably the best possible situation—the best possible outcome for this situation. And I think, you know, just like you said, you know, realizing also that, you know, it’s not just it’s not just about me. It’s about, you know, it’s about everybody else taking online class, you know, our professors, like you said, this is their first time doing it, too, and I think I think we’ve all done a very good job at, at least you and I and the professor’s I have, done a good job at really getting back on track, I think. But how were how do you feel that online classes? You know, I know. I know. You know, there’s no getting out of them. But, you know, do you. Do you feel like you learn OK that way? Do you feel like it’s going well? You know what? What are your thoughts there?
[00:36:40]
JUSTIN: So the one class that I have that uses Zoom is basically just a lecture class. It’s with Dr. Pearson. Yeah. So you pretty much just goes through the PowerPoints every class and then just talks.
[00:36:58]
HOLDEN: So, so basically, So just as your general basic Pearson class, which is great.
[00:37:01]
JUSTIN: Yes. It’s literally just like being in class and like the classes are like an hour and a half shorter, too. You know, it’s just like a half an hour of that. So that’s been good. And a lot of professors have been making accommodations. So, yeah. And for example, like in our 400 class where we were supposed to have this long, you know, cumulative exam of trying to, you know, get everything that we’ve learned throughout our major. Now, it’s a question quiz kind of thing. So, you know, I have classes like that where, like, you know, instead of having lectures and stuff, I’ll just have a reading and then have to take notes on it and that’s it. So, I mean, from that perspective, they’ve been really good. I know, you know, from other people, I’ve heard like some classes that they are struggling in, it’s been better because they’re allowed to use notes on a test or something like that. Right. Some people it is helpful because they get to do that. But also some people hinders them because they don’t get the one-on-one with the professor like usual. But again, like I said earlier, a lot of the professors especially, I mean, you know, shout out to all the Comm professors at Bridgewater College, where they’ve been able to work with me as much as possible. I’ve just been able to have like real conversations with them, just about like what’s going on just from a faculty perspective.
[00:38:19]
HOLDEN: Right. Right. Ya know, I think for me it’s interesting because, you know, I’m taking Videography II. And we had this big we had this big client project. You know, we were we had started filming it. You know, I’d been devoting time to that. And then, you know, we get the e-mail that, you know, we have to go home. And so obviously, that project’s not happening anymore. And I really think shout out to—shout out to Scott Jost—I mean, he’s really taken this in stride. And, you know, now he’s kind of just opened the floor for us and we can basically, you know, make whatever kind of project we want. And I mean, of course, I still have to do my grad work. And that’s still all, you know, very you know, by the by the by what was in the syllabus beforehand. But I’m really excited about, I’m just excited about this new project in general. I think it’s just it’s allowing me to be creative even more so than the last one. And I just I don’t have a specific vision yet, but I think it’s going to go really well. But one thing that I think is super interesting is for the people who are taking exercise science classes.
[00:39:22]
JUSTIN: Right.
HOLDEN: So I’m in golf right now and we get we got an email from Coach Clark, and he said, you know, he’s going to send us readings and sort of stuff like that. So this week, I’m reading about Arnold Palmer and the man who golfs with the current president. So I think that’s interesting. You know, it’s a it’s a creative way to kind of remedy the situation we’re in while still kind of teaching us the fundamentals of golf, I guess. And I’m just hoping we don’t have to, you know, record ourselves or anything, because my pitching is not good. [Laughter]
[00:40:01]
JUSTIN: I get that. I think one more thing I want to ask you about, too, is. One thing that’s kind of been and guess for me as a senior and also you, it feels like every time I came home before this, it’s like, oh, I come home and I expect not to do anything. And now coming home are expected to do a lot of work. And now I have to change my mindset a lot. Is that in the same kind of thing you’ve been experiencing or a little is something different?
[00:40:28]
HOLDEN: Yeah, it definitely, there’s just been a mindset change at home. I’ll, I’ll be honest. My parents haven’t really realized, you know, I still have school work to do. So, yeah, you know, there are times where, you know, my dad’s like, I need you tell me on the woods or something like that. So it’s, it’s been a little bit of a struggle on that. And just trying to not only change my mindset to kind of get everybody in my house on the same page. And I know you have, you know, a big family, so it might be might be the same for you. But, um, but yeah, I think I think we’re finally past it now to where we’re all on the page of, you know, school work, then yardwork. But what about you?
[00:41:04]
JUSTIN: I think for me, like one of the hardest things, especially like when it comes to me and my family, like I feel like I’m locked in my room for like a good percentage of the day just doing schoolwork. And so at home I’m so used to like, oh I’m in my room just doing something. And then somebody will walk in the door and is like, hey, do you wanna do this? I’ll be like sure. And now that’s not the case. I always have to, you know, like shut them out or like, say, I got to do some schoolwork. But also, it’s been very interesting like, trying to stay in connection with people, too. Has been Interesting, but also like really good too, because it shows you which relationships you have are like real relationships and real friendships because people that are reaching out to you still. It shows you that you know that they still care about you as a person. So it’s been interesting. Like they have phone conversations and FaceTime and then like my mom or dad walks in the room like right in the middle of a conversation or something. [Laughter] I’m telling you, that happens at least once a day. For me, it’s just so funny.
[00:42:06]
HOLDEN: Yeah. So I guess we’re kind of we’re kind of floating around here. What are some fun things you’ve been doing at home? You know, I know we’re both super busy with schoolwork and stuff like that. But when you know, when you’re when you’re unwinding, what have you been up to?
[00:42:22]
JUSTIN: So I have been watching a lot of a show called Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
[00:42:27]
HOLDEN: I love that show. I love that show.
[00:42:29]
JUSTIN: I’ve gotten through five seasons. I’m on Season 6, Episode 3 right now. So I’m probably you know, I’m trying to just binge it as much as possible. You know, once all my school work is down and stuff, I think that’s something that just like helps me relax a lot. But also like a lot of these movies that just came out, because of the Coronavirus, a lot of the companies are releasing the movies for rent and for Buy earlier than you would think. So I was able to watch. What movie was it? Oh, I was able to watch the new Jumanji movie that came out. And I was like.
HOLDEN: Oh, is that good?
JUSTIN: I thought it was pretty good. I mean, not as good as the first one. Obviously, sequels aren’t. Never is, never are.
HOLDEN: Oh, no, they never are.
JUSTIN: But I mean, it was still really funny, though. I mean, it was just funny throughout the movie. So it was cool just to watch movies like that. But I feel like the first week coming back like from school was easier to, like, hang out with my family and stuff until like now, like this week, it’s already like yesterday and today, like I’ve been slammed with school work. So it’s like I’m working here and working and then like eight or nine o’clock at night. And then I got, you know, more stuff to do. But I have to put that aside just to like take care of myself and just relax a little bit. But mostly it’s been just, you know, watching TV, watching movies, that kind of stuff. And obviously being a sports fan, I’ve been following sports a lot. So just trying to, you know, keep myself updated, even though like for the first time ever in history, all sports have been shut down, which is just crazy to even think about. Right? How about you? Or what are some things that you’ve been doing?
[00:44:12]
HOLDEN: Well, before I get into all, you know, just regular stuff, I was reading through the book, How to Be Justin Rogers. [Laughter] And so chapter four, I don’t know if you’ve read it, but it says in there.
[00:44:27]
JUSTIN: Learn how to skateboard. So that’s what I’ve been doing the past few days. I got a penny board for Christmas. It’s maroon and I really like it. And I just I started going up and down my driveway and I’ve come a long way.
[00:44:42]
HOLDEN: I haven’t fallen and I’m pretty proud of myself not going to lie. So maybe, maybe, maybe a commencement. You’ll see me as you’ll see me shredding a little bit. [Laughter]
[00:44:50]
JUSTIN: And what’s awesome about this is even though, you know, we’re under quarantine and stuff. I mean, it is recommended that, you know, you as long as you’re obviously like six feet away from people, go outside, take a walk like you’re saying, like take a skate. Like me, my brother, my dad, we all took a skate one day and it was nice just to kind of get out of the house because of your cooped up in a house for, you know, three straight weeks. You’re gonna go crazy. Oh, yeah. Especially because now we’re officially in spring. It’s super nice outside. I’m not the past couple days, but I mean, last week it was super nice outside. So it was kind of get out there. Mm hmm.
[00:45:28]
HOLDEN: Yeah. Other stuff, you know. I don’t know. I like watching I like watching 30-minute shows because I feel like if, you know, I’m watching a longer show or a movie like. And I still have work to do and I just start to feel a little guilty. So I’ve been watching a lot of I’ve I’ve started seeing Season 7 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I’ve watched two seasons of New Girl, which that’s Zoey Deschanel and a couple different actors. That’s really good. It’s on Netflix. And then just keeping up my podcasts. I, um, I’ve a couple different podcasts I like to listen to. Unfortunately, one of them is all about soccer and they’ve stopped putting out episodes, you know, with the with, like you said, Coronavirus stopping all sports right now.
[00:46:13] So that’s a little disappointing. But I just. I’ve just been trying to do things to really keep my brain working, you know? I don’t want to I don’t want to turn off just yet, but I’ve got a stack of movies sitting on my, my nightstand over there and I’m getting ready to watch. So real excited for that.
[00:46:31]
JUSTIN: Yeah, same. I also have a couple of movies that I’m trying to watch, too, on one [inaudible] What’s number one for you? Number one is Shawshank Redemption. Oh, great movie. Even better boo though. Yeah. I have not. I didn’t even know that was a book too. Stephen King! This is why I’m the better co-host. This is, this is why right here. I don’t know. Hey, but I will say you have to get to Chapter 7 of how to be Justin Rogers of wearing a backwards hat all the time.
[00:47:00]
HOLDEN: That’s so true. That’s so true. You know, I’ll put one on right now. [Laughter] But, you know, I kind of want to take a minute and have a little hash tag, real talk. You know, what are you–what do you think about the world today? What are you what are your thoughts on life, on all this on this coronavirus, on just lay it on me.
[00:47:24]
JUSTIN: All right. Well, I mean, the Coronavirus, I mean, when first hearing about it in December, January. Honestly, it just felt like one of those Ebola virus kinds of things where like, OK, it’s going to last like two months. Not going to be an epidemic. It’s not going to be that bad. And then kind of getting closer and closer. You mean you talked to professors and they’re like, oh, we might shut down, you know, for a couple of weeks. I’m like, nah that’s not going to happen. You know, just try and stay positive. And then when it finally does happen, it’s like, wow, like what’s going on here?
And especially, you know, being a senior, you have all of these plans. And, you know, like, I wanted to do this. I wanted to do that. You know, obviously, like, you know, a lot of classes and stuff, you know, like BCVoice and I’m in Cru like, you know, they have a, you know, senior parties, end of the year parties and stuff like that. So you’re missing out on all of those things. And so it makes you realize, like, you know, sometimes those are the things that you don’t really need to hold on to. And change is real and that, you know, anything can happen at any time.
And, you know, for me, being a Christian and, you know, being one of faith, it’s been a really good time for me just to kind of realize, like, I’m not the one that’s in control or ultimately God is the one that’s in control. So that’s been good for me to just kind of realize that. But also, I mean, I was talking about earlier, I would for people who are listening. I would encourage you to. You know, if you feel alone, then don’t be afraid to contact somebody, you know, through Zoom and through FaceTime. Because, I mean, you know, if this happened like 30 years ago. This we would have not had, you know, FaceTime or phone calls or any of that kind of stuff. So I mean take advantage of the technology that we have and reach out to people. And again, as I said earlier, like, it just shows you. And it shows other people that you really care about them and that they really care about you. And also just to update people. Even if you’re, you know, like kind of like we are right now just talking about nothing. You know, just being there, even though you’re not, you know, in the same place as that person. It’s just nice to know that they’re there for you.
Yeah, you know but overall, I mean, you know, just with, you know the, I mean, this is real. It’s hard not you know, with all of the memes and the jokes and stuff going around, it’s hard to really think that this is a real thing going on, but it is real. I mean, people have gotten sick and people have died from this, even though it is, you know, at a certain age, obviously. And you know, me having grandparents that live in the area, just trying to, you know, especially with, you know, a grandma that already has some health stuff, it’s very easy. You know, just to kinda think about it and just say, wow, this is real. You know, people could die from this. So, you know, just taking them proper cautions, you know, precautions and, you know, staying safe and just making sure, you know, washing your hands, taking showers, you know, things that we should normally do. I mean, realizing how much I don’t actually wash my hands [Laughter] when I’m supposed to so. Yeah, how about you?
[00:50:31]
HOLDEN: Yeah, I mean, I like it. You know, I agree with everything you said. You know, and I think it’s really important for people to know is like, you know, you should always, the hope is that, you know, you have someone to turn to, you know, when things get hard, or when things get dark or whatever. And, you know, not being afraid to call somebody, to text somebody, you know, is just say, hey, like I need someone to talk to you right now. Like, that’s what’s so big and so important. But like, I don’t know, I just I keep watching the news and, you know, I see a lot of like, oh, millennials are still partying in Florida and just millennials aren’t taking this seriously. And just meme, after meme, after meme. It’s just like, you know, like you were saying, you know, this is bigger than us. This is bigger than you. This is bigger than me. Is bigger than. Really? I mean, Bridgewater College, anything like that. You know, and it’s disappointing to see, you know, the same people we’re cast into a generation of group with that, you know, they’re acting this way. And, you know, we’re all out here. We’re working hard. We’re trying to, you know, just stay safe and keep our classes together and everything like that, keep our families together. And you’ve got people doing that.
And it’s just I don’t know. I wish, I wish someone could get through to them and to get get through to, you know, just everybody and just like kind of put this all into perspective, you know, like you were saying, you know, we are kind of—you were—right when you say we are really living through history right now.
And it’s crazy to think that, you know, and, you know, probably 20, 30 years this will be in textbooks and stuff like that. You know, people can be studying this for years to come. And, you know, while it may not be, I’m sure it’s directly if it’s directly affecting a lot of people, while I may not be directly affecting us and you hope it doesn’t, you know, it’s just it’s, it’s crazy to think that, you know, I just hope, you know, our listeners are safe. I hope, you know, you’re safe. I hope you know, just everyone I care about everyone, you know, just everybody in general. I just hope we’re all taking the necessary precautions. We’re all doing things that, you know, we should be doing.
[00:52:23]
JUSTIN: And the crazy thing is this isn’t just the United States is all over the world, which is.
HOLDEN: Right?
JUSTIN: Crazy to even think about, because usually, you know, when things directly impact us, that has to do with the country that we’re in as well. But this is all over the world.
[00:52:38]
HOLDEN: Yeah, I just you know, it truly is a global pandemic. And, you know, I just it’s so hard to wrap your head around. I think, you know, it’s just it’s crazy. Yeah, crazy times. I mean, that’s, that’s the title of our videography assignment. You know, these times we’re living in. Yeah. You know, I think I just think that’s so, so apt. So such a great, great title. Yeah. But yeah, I guess one more question. You know, when I don’t know when, when things, when things get too much, you know, when you get a little overwhelmed, when you start feeling like you just need a break, what’s your what’s your go to? What’s the one thing you think our listener listeners should try?
[00:53:17]
JUSTIN: Listen to music. I think that just helps me. Yeah. Just blow off emotional steam. I mean, you know, you have things, you know, like workouts and stuff. Physically that how do you blow off steam. But like, I meant mentally and emotionally. You know, music, obviously, you know, those of you who are loose and know that, yes, I am a Christian and, you know, just listening to worship music really for me, too. But I mean, you know, all types of genres, you know, jazz, rock and hip hop and rap and all those kind of things, like they just help me, you know, again, release some emotional steam. But also, just like if you’re frustrated with something, just walk away. It’s so easy just to when you’re frustrated or something, just keep working on it and hoping that it will just go away and once you’re done with it, but you just make it worse. So I’m just walking away and just doing something else just to kind of get your mind off it. And then returning back to it. But how about you?
[00:54:12]
HOLDEN: I think for me, you know, the most important thing is like relocating. You know, I think, you know, somehow some houses may not have this opportunity. But for me, you know, taking you know, if it’s just even for a couple of minutes, just, you know, like you said, walking away from my laptop. But also, you know just relocating. You’re going downstairs or something like that. But yeah, really just, you know, relocating, you know, kind of fixing my mindset a little bit. But yeah, I think I don’t know. What do you think? Is that a good wrap up for the end of the end of the episode?
[00:54:42]
JUSTIN: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
HOLDEN: All right.
[00:54:45]
JUSTIN: All right, guys. Well, thank you for listening to this extra-long episode of SquawkTalk here on BC Voice mid-week radio show. We thank you for listening to us. We’re gonna come back in a couple of weeks, probably our last ever episode. And last week is gonna have to be big, Holden. It’s going to have to be big.
HOLDEN: We’re gonna have to do something big,
JUSTIN: we’re gonna have to do something big. Again Thank you guys for listening. I’m Justin.
HOLDEN: And I’m Holden.
JUSTIN: And we’ll see you guys later.
HOLDEN: Wash your hands, you guys.
[00:55:17]
BRANDON: And with that, our show has concluded. We want to thank each and every one of our broadcasters for their dedicated work to bring you the most quality updates you can get along with our listeners for tuning in. My name has been Brandon Wells, and you have been listening to the BCVoice mid-week radio show at BCvoice.org. We start to tune in next Wednesday at 7 o’clock for a brand new show. And thank you for listening.
[Music]
