Coronavirus Chronicle

A spike in COVID-19 cases combined with the holidays makes for an extraordinary amount of stress. For ways to deal with it, Lisa called Alejandro Chaoul, an expert on the therapeutic effects of meditation and Tibetan yoga. They spoke with Chaoul sitting cross-legged on the floor of his wife’s family’s house in Costa Rica, where the family was quarantining. They discuss mindful ways to fight sleeplessness, loneliness and anxiety. But first, as promised, a surprise for Christmas: Chronicle Op/Ed editor Raj Mankad talks with Houston singer-songwriter Glenna Bell about her 2008 Christmas song Be my Valentine (on Christmas) and how its hopeful-yet-melancholy vibe feels just right for Raj at the close of 2020. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.  Listen to Glenna Bell's music on Spotify. Here's a list of Alejandro Chaoul's upcoming classes and meditation sessions. And here's where you can stream a free half-hour "Meditation for Crisis and Uncertainty" video with Ale, courtesy Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was available Friday, 12/11, on the Q&A with Lisa Gray feed. Want to get next Friday's episode delivered pronto to your podcast app? Click here to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or search your favorite player. New vaccines are on the horizon — but is it too late to blunt the pandemic’s winter surge? Might Houston fare better than the rest of Texas? And why could a traditional-method vaccine be better for kids? Lisa checks in with vaccine researcher Peter Hotez. He’s a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and he co-directs the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, where his lab team is developing COVID-19 vaccines. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Have questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.    Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forty-two percent of Americans say they're unlikely to get a COVID-19 vaccine. To end the pandemic, how do we persuade them? Tips from Texas A&M researcher Lu Tang. Read stories by Lisa Gray and connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Have questions, comments or suggestions? Want a sticker? Send Lisa an email.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Click to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. The Army Corps of Engineers’s latest ideas on how to reduce flooding along Buffalo Bayou has riled many Houston residents who were expecting a more modern solution to flooding than the concrete channelizing of Houston's bayous implemented in past decades. Lisa talks with Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer and co-director of the storm-studying SSPEED Center at Rice University. Read: Digging Buffalo Bayou deeper? Houstonians up in arms over Army Corps' 'old-fashioned' flood fixes. Connect with Lisa Gray on Twitter and Facebook.  More: SSPEED Center — Severe Storm Prediction, Education, & Evacuation from Disasters Center Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UPDATE: Q&A with Lisa Gray is now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the usual places. If you like the show, please follow and tell a friend. With President-elect Biden pledging a science-based approach to wrangling the pandemic — and with record infections across the country — Lisa dials up world-class coronavirus expert Ben Neuman in his lab at Texas A&M University - Texarkana, and peppers him with questions: the state of coronavirus research? The safety of warp-speed vaccines and how they work? Would he take the shot? How long will these vaccines protect us? And ... what about that Russian vaccine? Connect with Lisa Gray on Facebook and Twitter. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to this sneak peek episode of Q&A with Lisa Gray. We'll let you know (middle of next week?) when the show is available on Apple Podcasts and all the usual places. As the United States nervously waits for this presidential election to be decided and we’re awash in discussions of the fine points of voting security, Lisa was eager to talk with voting security expert Dan Wallach to discuss the actual threats to American democracy. Wallach is a professor at Rice University's Department of Computer Science where he also manages the university's computer security lab. He is currently on sabbatical with a nonprofit group called VotingWorks, making and promoting better voting systems. This interview was recorded late in the afternoon of November 5, 2020.  Connect with Lisa Gray on Facebook and Twitter.  Read Lisa's interview with Dan Wallach on HoustonChronicle.com. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With COVID-19 cases surging in the U.S., and what may be signs of a coming spike in Houston, we offer this extra episode of Coronavirus Chronicle. In this interview with Lisa Gray, vaccine researcher Dr. Peter Hotez discusses the coming winter surge, and why he’ll be taking the first vaccine he can get. Since March, Hotez has emerged as Houston’s best explainer of the novel coronavirus, and one of the best in the nation. Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's guests, Roman Mars, creator and host of the (very) popular 99% Invisible podcast and 99PI colleague Kurt Kohlstedt, want you to ask that question about the mundane — and therefore invisible — things that surround us. Why are stop signs red? What do those spray painted squiggles on sidewalks mean? What are those round things that keep us in our lanes on the freeways called?* On a virtual book tour, Roman and Kurt talk with Lisa about how the pandemic necessitated quick, smart solutions to new problems — think of those feet-shaped floor stickers at the grocery checkout — and how COVID might reshape our cities.  Connect with Lisa Gray. *Botts' dots   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Executive Editor Steve Riley was the first guest Ferrill interviewed for this show and today, six months later, Steve is Ferrill's final guest as Coronavirus Chronicle comes to a close. In March, Steve observed that coronavirus was "like a hurricane that would hit all places everywhere, in every way, all the time." Steve and Ferrill discuss how correct that description turned out to be, how Chronicle journalists adapted to working from home and how (and why) the organization worked to be the place readers could get the information they needed as the pandemic unfolded. Connect with Ferrill Gibbs and Steve Riley. Read: EXPOSED | PART ONE - Nearly 3 dozen local COVID patients said their symptoms preceded the Houston region’s first confirmed case, data shows EXPOSED | PART TWO: Warned - COVID-19 exposed the failure to learn lessons from prior pandemics   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior writer, columnist and Coronavirus Chronicle co-host Lisa Gray sits down with Ferrill for a chat as the podcast nears the end of its six-month run. Among the topics they discuss: the state of journalism, the phycological effect of focusing closely on the coronavirus pandemic month after month and why Lisa would ever "want to do this in the first place?" They also touch on the rejuvenating effects of gardening now that the fall planting season has mercifully arrived in Houston. Connect with Ferrill Gibbs and Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Columnist Chris Tomlinson weighs in on the state of things at the six-month mark of the pandemic. 2020, he says, has been a really horrible year, but there are so many different ways things could go so much worse. "When," he asks, "was the last time uniformed groups of armed men, with no government sanction whatsoever, marched through the streets in full combat gear? That is happening routinely in the United States today. And it's not just the right wing, it's the left wing too. Everyone is arming up."  Connect with Chris Tomlinson. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas editor Robert Eckhart discusses how we're doing six months into the coronavirus pandemic. He says it's been a year of "upheaval" as political norms have been turned upside down, and as the election approaches Democrats and Republicans alike are limiting their arguments to the one or two issues they thing will gain the most votes on November 3rd. One of the things that worries him about modern politics, is that so much of it is based on fear. And, he says, "how many great decisions do we make when we're scared to death of each other?" Connect with Robert Eckhart. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vaccine researcher (and frequent guest) Dr. Peter Hotez is worried. As the COVID case numbers are trending upward again, he's worried about a "third peak" this fall and winter that would start at a higher infection level than the first two peaks of May and July, creating "a triple hump, with successively bigger humps." Hotez is also worried about how the anti-vaccine movement has, he says, expanded under a banner of "health freedom" into a globalized, anti-science movement linked to neo-nazi groups. He's also worried about the return to school, crowded polling places and complacency as the pandemic drags on.  Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nancy Sarnoff, Chronicle real estate reporter and co-host of the Looped In podcast, commiserates with Ferrill over the outlook for commercial real estate in Houston. She does not see a bright future in the near term for hotels, offices, restaurants and retail strip centers as the full effect of the region's economic stall becomes apparent. Connect with Nancy Sarnoff. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the pandemic hit in March, 15,000 Texans have died of COVID-19 — and 400,000 Texans have registered to vote. From Austin, politics reporter Jeremy Wallace discusses the effect those two numbers might have on the outcome of the November election. Read: Texas shatters voter registration records again as Trump-Biden election draws closer Connect with Jeremy Wallace.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday, the morning after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, columnist Erica Grieder started calling women to ask how they were processing the news. Those women told her they were shocked, heartbroken, devastated, sad and scared, but that everyone was busy. With the election only 45 days away, everyone, they said, is getting to work. Read: Grieder: Loss of Justice Ginsburg leaves Texas women devastated, determined to carry on fight Connect with Erica Grieder.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week Texas governor Greg Abbott held a press conference (!) and announced the next phase of reopening for much of the state, allowing most businesses, restaurants, offices, museums and libraries to operate at 75% capacity, up from 50%. He did not allow bars to reopen. Texas bars have been shutdown since June 26. Austin-based reporter Cayla Harris also tells us how the state has changed the way it calculates the positivity rate. With the new calculation method, the positivity rate in Texas has been declining since its peak in early July. Connect with Cayla Harris. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the best people in the world to answer that question is Lauren Ancel Meyers. Meyers, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas-Austin, leads UT’s COVID-19 modeling consortium. Since the pandemic began, her team has modeled the virus’ spread across the United States. This week, the consortium released a new set of dashboards for Texas -- including one for the Houston area. Connect with Lisa Gray.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeking to support LGBTQ businesses threatened during the pandemic, the Human Rights Campaign, through an LGBTQ business preservation initiative, has given five-figure grants to 10 enterprises across the country, including Houston's Pearl Bar. Reporter Hannah Dellinger talks with Ferrill about why the survival of the bar is essential to its patrons and why the HRC is aiding the cultural landmark, one of 16 lesbian bars remaining in the country. Read: Pearl Bar gets preservation grant during pandemic Connect with Hannah Dellinger. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A handful of Texans have been accused of trying to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES, according to the Department of Justice — and a recent story by reporter Olivia Tallet. One case involves an Almeda-area funeral director who tried to buy two limousines and two hearses with some of the $13 million he is accused of pocketing.  Read: Texas leads SBA pandemic relief loan fraud in national prosecutions Connect with Olivia Tallet.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With five named storms in the Atlantic for the first time since 1971 — and with one of those storms seemingly taking aim at the host's home town of Mobile, Alabama — today Coronavirus Chronicle forgoes its customary journalist interview to give Ferrill a chance to reflect on the forecast models, both meteorological and viral, that hint at what is yet to come in the uncertain times ahead. Connect with Ferrill Gibbs. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off her coverage of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana reporter Emily Foxhall, the Chronicle's the Texas Storyteller, caught up with a group from Doctors Without Borders here in Houston where they come here to assist nursing homes. The organization usually operates in conflict zones and in places experiencing endemic diseases. This year, because of the pandemic, they are in New York helping the homeless, working with farmworkers in Florida, the Navajo Nation, Puerto Rico, a nursing home project in Michigan, and now in Houston. Connect with Emily Foxhall. Read: ‘I saw the need’: Doctors Without Borders fights COVID in Houston nursing homes Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a frequent guest on cable news vaccine researcher Dr. Peter Hotez has aimed to interpret scientific findings for as broad an audience as possible. He was one of the rare experts who appeared frequently on both Fox News and MSNBC. Recently, he abandoned his policy of not criticizing the White House. This week, we’ll talk about why he did that, whether he thinks it’ll be safe to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and the value of using this strange pause to think about our lives. Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The isolation of the pandemic has been an opportunity to reset and discover what she misses says restaurant critic Alison Cook. She has found coronavirus comfort in the food of her youth — peanut butter on crackers and spoonfuls of jarred spaghetti sauce ... albeit really good spaghetti sauce ... right out of the jar, while standing up in her kitchen. Alison is OK with that, and you should be too. Read: Alison Cook's pandemic diet: Ritz crackers and bottled spaghetti sauce Connect with Alison Cook. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drawing his authority from the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has used those emergency powers to make decisions regulating virtually every facet of life during the pandemic. And, well, people such as the five conservative lawmakers who have sued Abbott, disagree that the governor has the power to behave like a king. Austin reporter Taylor Goldenstein and Ferrill discuss. Read: 'He's decided he's the king': Gov. Greg Abbott's COVID response leaves lawmakers on sidelines Connect with Taylor Goldenstein.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As her reporting internship was ending at the Houston Chronicle, Currie Engel reported that Harris County wants to implement a program that would look at how and where active COVID infection exists in Houston. Hopes are that the program would help officials better understand how the virus spreads within the region in real time, and then those findings would be used to help shape public health policy.  Connect with Currie Engel. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems there is no end in sight to our Zoom life and our current remote learning life as the pandemic rolls into its sixth month. Gathering in groups for entertainment, education and celebration continues to be a potentially dangerous. Our need to communicate from a distance will absolutely continue to be a necessary part of life. Technology editor Dwight Silverman chats with Ferrill. Connect with Dwight Silverman.   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Houston-area students began returning to school, even as many experts warned that COVID-19 levels in our area remain alarmingly high. Now parents, principals, teachers and coaches are scrambling to figure out best practices: What, exactly, should our schools be doing? Lisa talks with indoor air-quality expert Richard Corsi, now dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University. While a professor at UT-Austin, he and his team studied air quality in Texas schools. Jump to 08:33:00 to hear about rebreathe fractions and why it is important student and teachers. Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some say recent data suggests Texas has wrangled the coronavirus. Overall new cases, positive test rates, daily deaths, and viral spread are all dropping. Colleges and universities across the state have opened and campuses are filling with students eager to take in all the educational opportunities college life offers. What could possibly go wrong? And how are school administrations dealing with the inevitable hot spots? Higher education writer Brittany Britto talks with Ferrill about how colleges are handling the first weeks of the semester. Tweet at Brittany Britto and Ferrill Gibbs. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1,300 defendants are awaiting resolution on murder or capital murder charges in Harris County District Courts. The cases have piled up more and more rapidly over the past three years, starting with Hurricane Harvey’s closure of the courthouse and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving families and defendants waiting in emotional and legal limbo. Today Ferrill talks with courts reporter Samantha Ketterer about the situation. Read: 'Waiting and waiting:' COVID only made Harris County's massive backlog of murder cases worse Connect with Samantha Ketterer. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connect with Sports writer Adam Coleman made it down to East Bernard on Friday night to watch the Brahmas defeat the Edna Cowboys 49-20 as small Texas schools began play before big schools. UIL and CDC COVID-19 protocols were on everyone's mind and largely adhered to. Otherwise, the atmosphere was much like any other game — except popcorn was not available at the concession stand. Class 6A and 5A schools start their football season Sept. 24. Connect with Adam Coleman. Read: Friday Night Lights rolls on in COVID-19 era Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if a hurricane came up Galveston Bay, and the storm surge roared into the petrochemical plants lining the Houston Ship Channel? Scientists have warned about such a nightmare scenario for more than a decade. But none of the big, preventive measures has been adopted. Senior writer Lisa Gray dug into the above scenario and discovered a lot of great ideas being circulated, but nothing concrete being done. Read: How Hurricane Laura's storm surge could have decimated Houston Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chronicle photographer Godofredo Vásquez spent Wednesday night hunkered down in a parking structure in Beaumont before driving into Lake Charles, Louisiana to document the destruction brought by Hurricane Laura. Godofredo paused mid-day to talk with host Ferrill Gibbs. Meanwhile, Ronnie Crocker, executive editor of the Beaumont Enterprise, rode out the storm with emergency management officials in the tax assessor's office at the Jefferson County courthouse, where everyone was relieved when the city received only a glancing blow. But, Crocker wonders, will the region adapt to the seeming inevitability of powerful storms or will Gulf Coast officials allow another storm experience to pass unheeded?  Connect with Godofredo Vásquez and Ronnie Crocker. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone knows how great it is sit in a darkened movie theater for a couple hours (recently reopened!) and forget about the troubles of the outside world. Whether you prefer fast zombies, slow zombies or no zombies at all, we hope this episode provides you with fifteen minutes of escapism on a difficult day for much of the Houston/Beaumont region and western Louisiana.  Read: Cary's 28 favorite zombie movies. Connect with Cary Darling and Claire Goodman. Get the latest on Hurricane Laura with these sites and apps. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What will coronavirus look like on October 13 when early voting starts in Texas? At the midpoint of the political conventions, host Ferrill Gibbs and Austin political reporter Jeremy Wallace talk over the impact of the pandemic when Texans go to the polls this fall.  Connect with Jeremy Wallace. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reporting on a survey by a a Chicago law firm, Business writer (L.M. (Wooty) Sixel, found that the pressures of working together during a pandemic can expose issues between co-workers who never knew they had a problem. Careless masking, failure to abide by distancing rules and sanitizing rituals are all hot-button issues. Read: Coronavirus causing big conflicts at work over masks, cleaning and more Connect with L.M. Sixel. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business reporter Nancy Sarnoff describes a recent visit to downtown Houston during  lunchtime. Instead of the usual crowds of people on the sidewalk s and filling the tunnels as they would on a hot day, she saw a few groups of office guys in their blue shirts and khakis out for lunch, and skater kids taking advantage of the empty streets and sidewalks. She found solitary diners having a solo lunch and shop owners working reduced hours. While most every big city downtown is going through something similar — little traffic, shuttered lunch spots and plenty of available parking — as a former downtown worker, she finds the dead downtown scene unsettling.  Read: story by Nancy Sarnoff, photos by Jon Shapley: 'Downtown is dead:' How COVID turned Houston into a ghost town   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How safe are marching bands? Can dogs smell COVID? Historically, how do virus epidemics end? Dr. Ben Neuman, one of the world’s top coronavirus researchers and head of biology at Texas A&M-Texarkana, once again answers questions from Chronicle readers. Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Texas topping half a million COVID-19 cases and 10,000 deaths, Business columnist Chris Tomlinson observes, "We're just a third of the way into this. We're at the end of the beginning." Having endured five months of shutdown and spread, Tomlinson says, we must wait at least five months for a vaccine and five additional months before people are vaccinated and life can start to approach normalcy. Further, he says we are "actually hitting the crux, because the fall is going to move people indoors. That's going to cause more infections. That's why we're going to see more lockdowns, more businesses shut down. We're going to see all those colleges shut down and send their kids back home because they can't manage the infections." Read: 5 months of COVID failure with 10 months to go Connect with Chris Tomlinson. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer, breaking news intern reporter Currie Engel intern has been hitting the streets talking to Houstonians about all kinds of news stories and shaking down this strange coin shortage that's been going on and discovering how the lack of coins in circulation is affecting Houston's unbanked. Did you know that in Houston 11.8 percent of the population does not have a bank account? Connect with Currie Engel. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Texas college classes about to begin, higher education reporter Brittany Britto — and the students and parents — have more questions than answers. But in a few weeks, everyone will know if UT students will abide by the no-party rule? Will students follow social distancing protocols? Will college and universities be able to deliver the education and campus experience students expect. Connect with Brittany Britto. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As schools are reopening for the new school year, Coronavirus Chronicle host Ferrill Gibbs and Houston Chronicle city hall and politics reporter Jasper Scherer talk about the difficulty of knowing how to go forward, housing and eviction, and how Houston animal shelters are handling during the pandemic. Connect with Jasper Scherer. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Houston Chronicle’s Lisa Gray talks to Susan Myres, president of American Academy of Matrimonial Layers, about what divorce lawyers are seeing nation-wide and what she is seeing in the Houston area.   Connect with Lisa Gray. Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Natsios, director of Texas A&M's Scowcroft Institute for International Affairs, says the COVID outbreak was visible from space last August. But no one was watching, so the world lost valuable months before trying to contain the pandemic-to-be. Will we do better next time a new disease breaks loose? Connect with Lisa Gray.  Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now that the Astros and Rockets are back in action, host Ferrill Gibbs and Houston Chronicle sports editor Reid Laymance talk about some of the story lines that have developed in the last few days. What's it like to watch sports through the lens of a pandemic? What about football season? Laymance breaks it down. Connect with Reid Laymance Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Returning astronauts, a mission to Mars, it's a busy time for Andrea Leinfelder, the Houston Chronicle's reporter on the space beat. Host Ferrill Gibbs and Leinfelder talk about what's going on at NASA these days, how the space agency is coping with the pandemic and little green aliens in this episode.  Connect with Andrea Leinfelder Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investigative reporter Jay Root is a veteran when it comes to breaking stories that lead to reforms. Sitting down with Ferrill Gibbs, Root breaks down what went wrong with Texas' $250 million contact tracing deal that did little to no work. The problems he uncovered have undermined the goals of boosting COVID-19 monitoring as the state remains under the grip of the pandemic. Connect with Jay Root Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reporter Jenny Deam, who embedded herself at United Memorial Medical Center, shares some thoughts on the status of healthcare workers at one Houston-area hospital. A battle waged against COVID-19 has taken its toll there, as Jenny paints a picture of exhaustion resulting from a recent surge in hospitalizations.  Connect with Jenny Deam Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vaccine researcher Dr. Peter Hotez has been a regular presence both here and on cable news, where he explains the science of COVID. Columnist Lisa Gray spoke with him earlier this week about steps he believes the U.S. could take to re-open our lives in time for football season; and also about claims that Chinese spies are targeting U.S. vaccine labs. Connect with Lisa Gray   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an email to Ferrill, music critic Joey Guerra declared this to be "a strange and creative time for entertainment." Strange times in so many ways, but Joey explains that the entertainment shutdown has "forced a lot of artists to think creatively in terms of how they're getting their music out to people. It's also forced a lot of artists to continue to put out new music that is very relevant to what's going on, you know, singing about things they would otherwise have never sung about or written about." Also, Joey has been doing a lot of baking. Connect with Joey Guerra     Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As unemployed Texans already know, the $600 CARES Act benefit is about to run out for for the rest of the country. Fearing that the supplemental unemployment benefit is enticing workers to not return to work, Senate Republicans want to lower that amount. It's not that simple, explains business reporter Erin Douglas. Most workers risk losing all benefits if they refuse to return to their job and employers are reluctant to re-hire and invest in expensive safety protocols as long as the possibility of another shutdown lingers. Connect with Erin Douglas   Support the show: https://offers.houstonchronicle.com/?offerid=125&origin=newsroom&ipid=podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.