Podcasts about selectionboundary

Quick! Name six iconic movies that hit theaters in the year 1999. Nothing?! Ok. We'll do it for you: The Matrix The Blair Witch Project Election Boys Don't Cry 10 Things I Hate About You Office Space And the craziest thing is? That's not even the half of it! In honor of that crazy year in movies, Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal is back again, featuring recaps and analysis of the six films listed above (as well as updates on whatever Peter was doing 21 years ago).  Take a listen to the trailer, and make sure to join Tricia, Greta and Peter for their first recap on Wednesday, Oct. 21!  And don't forget, we want to hear from you! Join the party and send us a voice recording about any of the movies we're featuring. Just record yourself on your smartphone and send the audio file to nerdetterecaps@gmail.com. We record early on Mondays, so send them in on Fridays if you can! 

Quick! Name six iconic movies that hit theaters in the year 1999. Nothing?! Ok. We'll do it for you: The Matrix The Blair Witch Project Election Boys Don't Cry 10 Things I Hate About You Office Space And the craziest thing is? That's not even the half of it! In honor of that crazy year in movies, Nerdette Recaps with Peter Sagal is back again, featuring recaps and analysis of the six films listed above (as well as updates on whatever Peter was doing 21 years ago).  Take a listen to the trailer, and make sure to join Tricia, Greta and Peter for their first recap on Wednesday, Oct. 21!  And don’t forget, we want to hear from you! Join the party and send us a voice recording about any of the movies we’re featuring. Just record yourself on your smartphone and send the audio file to nerdetterecaps@gmail.com. We record early on Mondays, so send them in on Fridays if you can! 

Since the pandemic began, people have been concerned about food—how safe it is, how to get it, whether it would be available. We answered many of those questions a couple of months ago. But now, with new state and local regulations coming out for how to reopen, things are slowly beginning to change. And Curious Citizens have asked us what it means for things like Chicago area farmers markets, take out and restaurants. We answer a few of those questions here: What will it be like to shop at the outdoor farmers markets in the Chicago area? The City of Chicago still hasn’t released its guidelines or set a date for the reopening of farmers markets within the city limits—much to the chagrin of organizers and shoppers. But several local area markets, including those in Oak Park and Evanston, are already open, along with dozens of others across the state. The Illinois Farmers Market Association has also put out recommendations for safety. So even though city guidelines haven’t been announced, many Chicago area market operators already have a clear idea of what this year’s socially distant season will look like—and many have been operating virtually in the meantime. Here are some of the most common rules they say will be in place, once markets open for in-person shopping: All markets we checked with in Chicago will require face coverings for all vendors and patrons for entry. Market managers will limit the number of people who can be inside the shopping area at any one time. And, once inside, visitors will be encouraged to walk through the market in just one direction, keeping 6 feet from all others. Managers and farmers want customers to pre-order and pre-pay for their produce in advance so they can pick it up from the market without any money changing hands. They encourage shoppers to use an app called WhatsGood that aggregates the products of all the market vendors in one spot for pre-order and delivery.  Most social aspects of the markets, like musical performances, yoga, chef demonstrations and kids activities have already been cancelled or at least delayed until the situation can be re-evaluated later in the year. At Chicago’s Green City Market, organizers have moved some activities, like their kids’ Club Sprouts, into the virtual sphere. Logan Square Farmers Market organizers have developed detailed rules that they will combine with any city rules that emerge in the coming days. They also plan to experiment with a reservation system where shoppers can sign up for a specific time to enter the market in order to manage the flow of traffic and avoid long lines for entry. Christine Carrino, a spokesperson for the City of Chicago, says they plan to share more information about the future of Chicago farmers markets sometime in early June. What are farmers markets going to sell? Shoppers can expect a more limited selection of items at farmers markets when they reopen for in-person shopping. Many market managers tell Curious City that they are going to focus on vendors selling fresh plants, herbs, fruits and vegetables in the early weeks. This will allow them to keep crowding down and expand gradually as shoppers get used to the new rules. Jessica Wobbekind, executive director of the Logan Square Farmers Market, said they may add things like bakery items later in the season, but not prepared items—like tacos. This is to discourage people from hanging around the market and socializing. Still some sacred farmers market traditions will remain in modified form, like the famous Oak Park Farmers Market doughnuts made at Pilgrim Church. They are still being sold at the market, but have to be pre-ordered through the WhatsGood app and pre boxed for pick up—so maybe they won’t be quite as hot. What’s the best way to make sure local businesses—rather than third party delivery companies—are getting the money from takeout orders? Under the stay-at-home order thousands of Illinois restaurants moved to a takeout and delivery model, including many in Chicago. Some restaurant owners say the model has served them surprisingly well and will remain a lasting part of their business—even at high-end dining establishments. Curious City looked at the safety aspects of this model in a previous story, but today there’s a lot more scrutiny on the economics of it.  That’s largely because Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a directive in May requiring third party delivery services to disclose their fees on the customer’s receipt. This has cast a new spotlight on who is actually benefiting from the fees charged by companies like GrubHub and Uber Eats. Sometimes these companies can take up to 30 percent of the total bill. If you want to ensure your local restaurant is getting the most money from takeout transactions, here are a few tips, according to restaurateurs we’ve spoken with: Take a look at your next takeout or delivery receipt to see how much you are actually paying in various fees. The disclosure rules are already in effect in Chicago. You might see that some restaurants have added in-house COVID fees to their bills, and they should be able to answer customer questions about what these fees cover. Don’t always believe what you see on Google or delivery sites in terms of how the restaurant’s takeout procedures operate—sometimes it’s wrong. If possible, call the restaurant first and ask them about their set up. Some may have their own in-house delivery person or have limited delivery. Others may have good curbside pick up options to avoid delivery altogether. While most restaurants prefer contactless credit card transactions at this time, they also have to pay the credit card company fees for every transaction at around 1.75 percent. Call to ask if they have other payment options that they prefer. Whether you are picking up or getting delivery, figure out the tip in advance by either putting it on the credit card when you order or having a clean envelope with the cash tip taped to your front door or in the part of your car (back seat or popped trunk) where the staffer is placing your food during curbside pickup.  What kinds of creative things are restaurants doing to maintain their business during COVID-19? The prognosis for restaurants in Chicago—and across the nation—is not good. Many have announced permanent closures, others are hanging on by a thread and some may reopen only to fail, according to the National Restaurant Association. While city and state authorities are still formulating rules for when and how local restaurants can reopen their indoor dining rooms, they recently announced rules for the next small step—allowing outdoor dining. You can read the city and state rules on these links. Curious City has heard a lot of ideas from Chicago restaurateurs about how they might reshape in-person dining experiences, like removing half of the tables from the dining room, putting up bookcases between tables, creating tent-like structures around tables and even erecting plexiglass barriers. But a couple of our question askers wanted to know what other things restaurants were doing right now to adapt and try to sustain themselves safely in the time of COVID-19. Some of the most creative innovations to keep restaurants open and people fed during COVID-19 have included everything from takeout meals you cook yourself at home to mixed cocktails (after the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation allowing restaurants and bars to sell the sealed to-go drinks). Here are just a few examples of some of the creative adaptations now on offer in Chicago: Logan Square’s award-winning Fat Rice restaurant has transformed into Super Fat Rice Mart, which sells whole kits to make the erstwhile restaurant’s signature dishes including Macanese vegetable curry and ginger and pork dumplings. More adventurous types can try the “Mystery Box” option, with ingredients and recipes for three unknown (in advance) Fat Rice dishes. Pasta restaurant Daisies in Logan Square is now selling their fresh pasta along with produce and groceries from local farms, including milk, butter, flour and eggs.  El Che Steakhouse and Bar has become a butcher shop, selling premium cuts of meat, wine and grilling kits. The popular Gibson’s Steak Houses are also selling aged prime cuts of meat, normally unavailable to ordinary consumers, for cooking at home. El Ideas in Douglas Park on 14th Street is offering curbside pick up of its tasting menus paired with an optional Zoom meeting with chef Phillip Foss later in the night. Here diners can talk with Foss about the dishes and hear the inspiration behind them. “Even though dining rooms are closed,” Foss says, “I think people still want a way to connect.” And one of the biggest surprises has been the sudden (relative) affordability of meals from Chicago’s top-rated Alinea and the Alinea group. Customers regularly paid more than $200 a head at the flagship Lincoln Park restaurant that now offers a nine-course tasting menu for about $50 per person through curbside pick up. A few companies have tried to aggregate a lot of these creative offerings across the country including Chicago-based enterprises Dining at a Distance and Tock. How else can you help out your local restaurants? Kelly Cheng of Sun Wah BBQ in Uptown has a few tips for customers who want to help make the whole contactless takeout experience work better for everyone: Order early. This helps the restaurant organize its workflow. For example, order at noon for a 4pm pick up Try to do curbside pick up at off-times for quicker curbside service when you arrive. If you must pick up at a popular time (like 6:30pm), be patient. Dozens of others have probably chosen the same time for dinner pick ups. Make sure you are clear about how the pick up will go—like, do you text when you get there or call to retrieve your order? Consider putting a flag on your antenna or a sign in your window that says “Picking up Order for John Doe.” Cheng says, “It can be hard sometimes to hear and understand each other through masks and this way you can be sure you don’t have to get out of your car and interact.” Park safely. “We have seen a few near accidents as people have parked in bike lanes while waiting for their pick up,” Cheng says. Don’t pop your trunk until you see the staffer coming out of the restaurant with the food, “especially if it’s raining,” Cheng says. Thank you to question askers Jennifer Ptak, Diane Danbury, Leslie Harris and Mary Beth Nevulis for your great food questions. Monica Eng is a WBEZ reporter. You can contact her at meng@wbez.org.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, a global public health crisis hit Chicago—a widespread outbreak of tuberculosis. The highly contagious respiratory disease spread easily from person to person and attacked the lungs. Without a vaccine or a cure, doctors attempted to treat positive cases with sunshine, fresh air and by quarantining the sick away from the general public. Chicagoans who couldn’t afford to go to a private facility were sent to the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Peterson Park, which back then was at the edge of the city. At the age of 12, Lillie Campbell was taken away from her family and quarantined at the MTS, where she remained for three years in the 1950s. She’s now 74, and she says that experience stayed with her and even inspired her to go into the medical field. While some Chicagoans are showing signs of quarantine fatigue after just two months under the Illinois stay-at-home order, Campbell recounts what it was like to live through the TB outbreak and how it has prepared her for the pandemic the world is living through today. What follows is an edited transcript of Campbell’s recent interview with Curious City. How did you find out you had TB? It was a very ‘hush hush’ disease—you didn't talk about it if you had it. You were considered very lowly, very unclean, like you were dirty. I think my teacher was one of the first people to begin to notice [I was sick] and they didn't let me go back to school. The thing I do remember most was the doctor who treated me, and he said to my mother, ‘I've seen this before.’ My mother was just heartbroken. She didn't cry, but she was very visibly shaken. [The doctor] let me spend one last night with my mother and my brothers and sisters. He explained to her that the whole family would have to be tested. She had to bring me to [the sanitarium] that next morning. We didn't talk the whole way. There was really nothing much to say.   What was it like to be in quarantine at the MTS? I was there from when I was 12 until I was 15. I was isolated. You couldn't go outside. Your nurses were afraid of you. They were very kind to me as long as my mother was standing there, but the moment she left, all hell broke loose. And we had to learn quickly—you're on your own. And I had to realize that it's either do or die. You had to get cards that had certain color codes—like everybody strived to get a green one [because] that meant you could go outside. You could not socialize with other people, other children, so you grew up very fast. What kept you going? You know, I’ll never forget that my dad--he sent me a poem. It was called “If” by Ruyard Kipling. And he wrote it out by hand and I'll never forget it. And it stuck with me. Lines like: If you can meet with triumph and disasters and treat those imposters just the same. If you can wait and not be tired by waiting...or in being hated don’t give way to hating. The whole thing was just encouraging, just the fact that he said don't hate someone because they hate you, to take a disaster and make it the best that you can. The whole thing spoke to me because I needed encouragement. I needed to know that what I was going through wasn't the end of me and I had to faith in what my parents had given me and have faith in God and to hold on. And I got through. So that part to me was crucial. Given your experience, what advice do you have for people? We're acting like we're in a barbaric age. We're mad. We want to blame the mayors and the governors. We want to stand at city halls with guns. You need to learn to sit quietly [and] just do what you need to do. This isn't gonna last forever. It's gonna get better. If you sit back and say, ‘OK. I'm in this. I don't like it, but it's gonna be okay. I just gotta hold on. I'm almost at the door ... And after a while, we'll be OK.’ This isn't just the United States’ problem—this is the world's problem. Wherever it came from, whoever started it ... it doesn't matter. What we have to do—and I firmly believe this—is to help each other ... But that's not what's happening. It's every man for himself. People saying, ‘well, I want to go outside. I'm tired of being cooped up. And then I want to go to work.’ So then when your child gets sick or your grandmother or your sister or brother, then, what are you going to do? There is no quick fix for this ... But the bottom line is, yes, we should quarantine. We should understand that this is not something [officials are] trying to take from you ... [they’re] trying to keep you from getting something. We’ve just got to be patient. But we'll never be the same. You're never the same after a terrible illness or a problem or a hurt or loss. You're never the same and you're not supposed to be the same. That's the point ... But it's all in how you allow it to change you.  The question that inspired this interview: Curious City question asker Laurie Nayder was strolling through Peterson Park on the Northwest Side with a friend when they ran into a park staffer. The staffer took them on a tour around the park fieldhouse and shared that the building and grounds had once been home to the state’s largest tuberculosis sanitarium. Nayder wanted to know more about what went on inside the buildings still standing in the park today, so she asked Curious City about the history of the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium. We answered her question in this piece from 2018, based on the historical record and remembrances of several former patients, including Lillie Campbell. Monica Eng is a WBEZ reporter. Contact her at meng@wbez.org.

Whether you’re single or in a decades-long relationship, it’s likely coronavirus has had an impact on your love life. With Illinois’ “stay-at-home” order and new social distancing rules in place, the pandemic has fundamentally changed how we’re supposed to interact with one another, and that can include our romantic partners. Now, some couples are unexpectedly navigating long distance because of quarantine; other single folk are trying out virtual dates now that bars and restaurants are closed. Chicago dating coach Bela Gandhi said the disruption caused by COVID-19 has made people seek out relationships and romantic encounters. “People are craving connection more than ever because it's constrained,” she said. “I think it's heightening the feeling for a lot of people that they would really like to have a romantic partner.” Dating app data matches Gandhi’s observation. The app Hinge reported a 30% increase in messages among users in March. According to Tinder, there were more than 3 billion swipes on March 29, the highest number of recorded swipes for a single day in the app’s history. People have also been turning to non-dating-specific apps and games to meet and spend time with loved ones — some people reported that they’ve scheduled virtual dates and even attended wedding ceremonies in the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing. We wanted to get to the stories behind the stats, so we asked you how your relationships and dating lives have fared during COVID-19. From learning how to use sex toys while staying socially distanced to quarantining on a boat with an ex-flame, here's what you had to say about love, sex and dating during the pandemic.  Virtual blind dating made me rethink my approach to love Relationship status: Dating someone virtually through a new kind of matchmaking service The backstory: Most of Michael Gorman’s dating life has been facilitated through apps like Tinder and OkCupid. So when someone in his workout group chat posted a link to a signup form for a new Chicago dating experiment called “Quarantine Bae,” he figured he had nothing to lose. “I wasn’t doing anything else with my time ... why not give it a shot?” he said. “Especially right now when the world is a very isolated place, I’ve been living for all of the video chats and other opportunities to connect with other human beings.” Quarantine Bae is a virtual matchmaking service started by two single friends who wanted to help connect other single people vulnerable to loneliness during quarantine. Co-founder Stefanie Groner said she was jaded by most dating apps, so she wanted to create something different. “We thought to ourselves, ‘Can we design more meaningful interactions and a different way to date that’s relevant for coronavirus?’ ’’ Enter COVID-19: Quarantine Bae matches people based on their preferences listed in the sign-up form and sets them up half-hour-long “blind” Zoom dates. The calls are audio-only, and participants don’t receive any information about each other going into the call. Michael said he was more nervous going into his first Quarantine Bae date than he’s ever been before. “I couldn’t come up with things to talk about or questions to ask him about his life,” he said. “It was kind of like [being in] that new Netflix show called Love is Blind.” Despite his nerves, Michael said the Zoom conversation “never got slow or uninteresting.” When his BaeMaker (matchmaker) checked in with him afterwards to ask if he wanted his match’s photo and phone number, he said yes. He said he was surprised when he saw what his match looked like. “I didn’t realize he was black, and when I saw the picture, I was taken aback a bit,” he said. “I was still interested in him — it didn’t matter — but it did surprise me a little bit.” Now what? Since their initial Zoom call, Michael said he and his match have gone on three video chat dates. He said he appreciates how Quarantine Bae set things up, because it pushed him to re-evaluate what’s important in a potential match. “When you’re swiping on Tinder, it’s very superficial — you’re not giving people a chance to be an actual human,” he said. “If you’re limiting yourself to other people who meet your predefined idea of a perfect match, then you’re losing out on tons of potential opportunities to connect with people.” He said he hopes services like Quarantine Bae stick around after the pandemic is over. “I honestly wish there were more dating apps that didn’t have pictures, that didn't make you predisposed to see someone a certain way. To the extent that dating has become problematic, superficial … I think this is a great opportunity to hit the reset button and think about how we actually want to date in the 21st century.”  I’m socially isolating 24/7 with a former Tinder date Relationship status: Quarantining on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico with an on again, off again flame. The backstory: Claire Oliphant matched with a guy on Tinder in the beginning of 2020. He’s from Chicago and like her, he’s into art and traditional music. He’d traveled to her hometown of New Orleans by boat. She says they dated for a week and a half, and “it was very fun, super intense.” But after that, he disappeared. She says she didn’t hear from him until “he showed back up” a few weeks later. The two decided they would just “be friends.” Then he disappeared again. Both times, Claire was crushed. “Each of the break ups and disappearing were really intense, and I was very sad about them.” But she likes to think of herself as a “pretty adventurous person.” So when he turned up again and invited her to wait out the pandemic on his two-person boat in the Gulf of Mexico, she decided to be spontaneous and join him — despite the fact that the two of them “haven’t gotten along for longer than a week and a half at a time.” “I thought it would be a good opportunity to have an adventure instead of sitting in my apartment at home passively reading the news.” Enter COVID-19: Claire didn’t know how long the stay-at-home order would last when she hopped on that small boat with a guy she’d been back and forth with more than once. Recently, they had their first big “yelling argument” since they set sail together. But she says for the most part, they spend their days drawing, fishing, swimming and cooking elaborate meals with dried food. “And then at night we've been singing songs and telling stories, which is pretty fun.” She also said the two have slept together since setting sail — “Everywhere. We’re very far away from many other people, so it doesn’t really matter where.” But she’s staying realistic about their future. “Even though it feels very domestic to be in this tiny space and to be so close to somebody for this long … I’m not having, like, daydreams of being with him after this.’’ Now what? Claire’s isn’t sure when she’ll actually get off the boat. Currently, no ports or marinas in New Orleans are allowing people in. She hopes she’ll be able to get off somewhere in Florida, but doesn’t know how she’ll get back to New Orleans from there. “I keep going back and forth, like maybe I should … try to go back now,” she said. “But I feel like I've put a lot into this adventure, and I feel pretty committed to it.” Regardless of what happens, Claire says this situation is changing the way she thinks about love. “I'm going to look at people in the future and be like, ‘Can I be quarantined with them for 18 months?’ ”  My open relationship is getting extra complicated during quarantine Relationship status: Navigating social distancing with a girlfriend who’s quarantining with her other boyfriend The backstory: Drake Stewart had never been in a polyamorous relationship before his current one with his girlfriend. The two met on Tinder last April and immediately connected on a deep level, Drake said. “I was really into it,” he said. “[But] in the back of my mind, l knew this person told me that she was in an open relationship, and I didn’t really know what that meant.” In the first few months of dating, before the pandemic started, Drake said he and his girlfriend would spend two weeks full weeks at a time together. Then, she would tell him she needed to be with her other partner. Drake said it was painful each time, but that he learned to cope. “It kind of happens in cycles. And each time I learn a little bit more or unlearn a little more, and I can manage it better,” he said. “I feel like we're getting healthier each time this happens, and we're both very open and we talk about all of our feelings.” Enter COVID-19: These cycles of being together then apart continued until the week Gov. Pritzker announced Illinois’ “stay-at-home” order. Drake says both he and his girlfriend were “a bit freaked out,” but that they’d decided they would continue to see one another. But a couple of days after the Governor’s order was issued, his girlfriend called, said her other boyfriend wasn’t doing well and that she’d decided she was going to go stay with him. “That just kind of felt like a stab in the heart,” Drake said. “And since then, we've been talking, but we haven't been able to talk about how that has made me feel or impacted me.” Now what? It’s been more than two weeks since Drake and his girlfriend have touched each other or been in each other’s homes. Last week, Drake said they celebrated their one-year anniversary by cooking their own food separately and bringing it to his girlfriend’s backyard to eat it from opposite ends of a picnic table. “It f***ing sucks not being able to be there and like, hold her or be held,” he said. “The only thing I want to do is see this person.” Drake said this extended separation has forced him to really think about his feelings for his girlfriend and what their relationship means to him. “I feel like, if anything, this will just show us how fragile life can be and not to take it for granted. So I'm going to try to spend more time with this person. It's just solidified my belief [that] this person needs to be in my life, he said.  I’m not giving up my sex life even during quarantine Relationship status: In a new relationship but quarantining apart The backstory: Max Dinerstein had their first date with their partner, who works as a cook, on Jan. 24 of this year. They say it had been going “really well,” so when Max’s mother’s birthday rolled around on March 20, and Pritzker had already shut down the city’s restaurants to dine-in customers, their partner came over to help cook a special birthday dinner. Then, the Illinois “stay-at-home” order went into place the next day, and Max hasn’t seen their partner since. “We're two months into a brand new relationship. We've said ‘I love you’ to each other, he's met my parents, and now I can't see him indefinitely.” Enter COVID-19: While the enforced distance is tough on a new romance, Max is looking forward to the ways social distancing will change how they’ll need to communicate with their partner — about all aspects of their relationship, including when it comes to virtual sex. “I'm not saying we're going to go all the way back to Jane Austen when you wrote each other like 12 letters and then you're like, ‘Cool, we've had one dance and we’re in love.’ I don’t want that,” Max says. “But I do think that communication of [one’s] needs and wants in dating is going to change.” With no ability to indulge in physical activity, partners and love interests have no choice but to really communicate their desires, Max said. “Everybody is now kinky for long distance sex, unless they live with their partner … [and] sex while social distancing is still possible.” Max recently ordered a sex toy that allows you to control your partner’s toy from a distance through an app. Max has used these kinds of toys before, but never with their current partner. They say they’re excited about giving it a try — even though they know it could feel awkward the first time around. “We’re just doing whatever we can to get that sweet, sweet serotonin.” Now what? Max, who considers themselves an expert on sex toys, said some friends reached out to them asking which toy they should invest in to keep their sex lives active during quarantine.  “And that's information I'm happy to give people, because if it means they're staying inside, great — that's my public service. I think people are trying non-traditional approaches to dating. And people are really open to things that they might not have been [before social distancing].”  My ex and I reconnected for real Relationship status: Rekindling lost love through virtual space The backstory: When Ellen Mayer, a former Curious City intern, created an OKCupid profile in 2017, she said she was “just looking for something casual.” But her first time on the app, she found a connection she hadn’t expected. She decided to meet up with this person for a date on a Rogers Park beach. “It was very romantic, and we clicked very quickly,” she said. So quickly, in fact, that she says she was falling in love by the third date. “He took me to a poetry night at The Hideout and read a poem that knocked me off my feet.” She said the first six months were so good she almost couldn’t believe it. But things took a turn after that. Both Ellen and her partner were dealing with mental health issues, and their relationship became strained. “A lot of it had to do with outside forces,” she said. After a year of dating, they decided to part ways, even as they both acknowledged that someday they wanted to try again. Ellen said she got back on the apps, but the lack of closure kept her from moving on. So at the end of last year, she decided to cut things off with him completely. Enter COVID-19: Quarantined alone in her apartment, contemplating what seemed like it could be the end of the world, Ellen said she began to rethink her decision to end things last year. With all that time to think about what really matters, she says she couldn’t stop thinking about him. “I would joke about it and be like, ‘I’m not going to call my ex,’ and lots of people would be like, ‘Yeah, don’t do it!’ ” she said. “But then I started thinking about it more and started thinking that maybe I did want to be in contact with him and maybe try to reopen that relationship.” Just as she decided to reach out, Ellen said her ex called her up. “We were both on each others’ minds.” Now what? Like everyone else, Ellen and her former ex are taking things day by day as they adapt to a changing reality under COVID-19. They have been going on virtual dates and working their way through the New York Times’ “36 Questions That Lead to Love.” She says the pandemic has made her reevaluate things that had been making her hold back. “I had all these rules in my head of what the timeline should look like and when I would be ready. And living through a global pandemic puts things in perspective,” she said. “There’s certainly a piece of it that’s like, ‘It’s the end of the world. Be with the one you love.’ ” Now, after a week of what she calls “rekindling,” she said she’s thinking about what it will mean to be together if social distancing remains in place for months or even a year. “It’s a little bit all or nothing if we decide that we want to be sharing space physically,” she said. “But I’d be lying if I said I don’t like the idea of being able to share space with a partner in this time. We’ll see how it goes.”

Chicagoans have become familiar with how COVID-19 is spread from person to person and what types of safety measures they should be taking during this time. But WBEZ has gotten several questions from pet owners who are wondering about the risks to their furry friends, things like--are cats and dogs susceptible to the virus and who will care for my pet if I get hospitalized with COVID-19? Scientists recently confirmed the first cases of COVID-19 in domestic pets- two cats and two dogs. But science journalist David Grimm says researchers, at this stage, believe the risk of transmission is low because the cell biology of animals is so different from humans. Still, there are precautions people need to take. In this episode, we explore how to best care for your pets right now, what to do if a pet owner gets sick with the virus and how our furry companions may also be responding to the emotional stress their owners might be experiencing right now. More about our questioner  Dr. Samuel Farbstein is one of several people who asked WBEZ questions about pets and COVID-19. Samuel was wondering about whether his two dogs, J.C. and Benji, could possibly contract the virus and if they would be contagious if they did. He’s an internist at DuPage Medical Group and has been reading all the medical literature about the novel coronavirus so he can up with his patients’ questions and concerns. He thinks J.C. and Benji sense he’s under an unusual kind of stress, and says they’ve tried to offer him some comfort. “I [spent] 8 hours at my computer dictating yesterday and [both dogs] were basically at my side making sure I couldn't walk without stepping on them,” Sam says. “They knew I needed it; they know I'm under stress. They read us well.” Jesse Dukes is the Curious City audio producer. You can follow him @CuriousDukes.

Governor Pritzker’s “stay-at-home” order has left lots of Chicagoans wondering how ⁠they can safely enjoy the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the city’s lakefront, adjacent parks, the 606 and Riverwalk have been closed because people were congregating in large groups, many natural areas in the region remain open. So people can still go outside to walk, run or bike ride, as long as they remain six feet away from other individuals. If these rules are followed, experts say spending time outdoors can be really good for mental and physical well-being. We asked Chicagoans for ways they’ve spent time outside while practicing safe social distancing — and we’re highlighting an activity to try each day this week. Today’s activity, stargazing, only requires a clear sky, a porch chair and your eyes.  Just look up! Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, said stargazing at night is a great way to get outside during COVID-19. “There’s no limitation that says you can only go outside during the day,” she said. “Being out at night can be just as mentally beneficial as going outside to see the daylight.” Chicago astronomer Joe Guzman, also known as “Astro Joe,” leads star talks for Chicago’s Park District, the 606 and After School Matters. He said it’s possible to see lots of stars without having to leave your own backyard — just try to get away from any glare. “Although we have intense light pollution in the city, it’s a misnomer that you can’t see anything,” he said. “Find a shaded area away from street lights and the skies will open up to you.” To start, Guzman said to sit in a chair facing north and try to find Polaris — the North Star — because “everything orbits Polaris.” For help, he suggests bringing a printed star chart out with you or downloading an app like Sky Safari or Stellarium to help you identify constellations and planets. And, while you can still see a lot with your naked eye, a pair of binoculars can greatly enhance the experience.  Nichols added that it’s important to wear layers, including warm socks. You might also want to bring a sketchbook to draw what you observe and write notes. “And, hot chocolate is always a welcome addition to the evening.” If you want guidance for what to look for, Nichols recommends checking out astronomy resource websites like earthsky.org/tonight or timeanddate.com’s moon phases section. The Adler Planetarium also has frequent “#LookUp” posts on social media and a printable LookUp guide for beginner astronomers featuring drawing and journaling prompts to get to know the sky over the course of a week. What you can see this spring Venus When: 10-15 minutes after sunset. Where: High in the western sky. What to look for: Venus is one of the brightest objects in the night sky between now and mid-May. If you have binoculars, look for the phases of Venus —Venus is at half-Venus now in late March, moving toward being a thin crescent by mid-May. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn When: Early morning, starting about 2 hours prior to sunrise. Where: Low in the southeast sky. What to look for: Mars is orange, Saturn is a yellow-tan color, and Jupiter is the brightest. Comet ATLAS When: The comet will be closest to Earth on May 23rd and viewed as a sunset object close to the horizon. Where: Presently, the comet is passing the orbit of Mars and is positioned around the Big Dipper high up in the northern skies. It will continue toward the western horizon in the next two months. What to look for: The comet is presently exhibiting an emerald green-ish glow, signifying a concentration of heavy carbon/nitrogen and cyanide vaporizing. It's visible via telescopes, and perhaps the naked eye in mid-May. Tips for keeping distanced Nichols said it’s easy to stargaze without ever having to leave your backyard. “There’s no one best spot to observe the sky. The best place to observe the sky is wherever you currently are. So you don’t have to find that perfect location — it doesn’t exist. There are some sites that are better than others, but truly get to know the sky where you are.” She said the silver lining of stargazing in an urban area is that it’s actually easier for beginners. “I tell people the best place to start learning about the sky is in a light polluted situation. Only the brightest stars are visible, only the moon is visible, only the bright planets are visible. That way it’s not as confusing!” But there’s also another advantage to stargazing right now. Guzman said with so many people staying inside during COVID-19, there’s less air pollution — and being able to see the stars depends on the levels of both air and light pollution. “The skies have gotten a little deeper in the last couple of weeks. Even with the light pollution problem we’re encountering, there are less cars, less factories, less pollutants in the atmosphere.” “The light pollution bounces off of these particles in the air. The less particles, the deeper the sky, the better the seeing conditions for astronomy.” As for sharing your stargazing experience with others while staying socially distanced, Nichols said electronic communication can help bridge the gap. “Set up a FaceTime or Facebook Live where your group goes outside at the same time all look at Venus at the same time,” she said. “That’s how you can have group observing activity without congregating in a group.”  Why stargazing offers so many benefits “It reminds me that there is a universe out there that we’re all connected to. And we tend to forget that in our everyday lives. We tend to forget that there’s an entire universe up there that we can explore as well. And that’s the great thing about going out in your backyard. You are sharing the same sky as everyone else in our area is too.” - Michelle Nichols “I love the one-on-one relationship I get to build with the cosmos. It's quiet and it’s there just waiting for us to examine it. I love exploring and discovering new things in the sky. Even though it’s been there for billions of years, it’s new to me.” - Joe Guzman “Standing beneath the night sky creates a feeling of humility in a vast universe of gas and light. Even on a dark, clear night there are so many stars that can only be identified through a lens.” - Evan Medrano “It's hard to describe, but I love the night sky. Many times I've been stopped in my tracks just to gawk up at the stars. It's almost a type of meditation? I find it very peaceful and relaxing, even when it’s 10 degrees out and I'm freezing. I just get trapped in the hugeness of it all.” - Sam Donnell Katherine Nagasawa is the multimedia producer for Curious City. You can reach her at knagasawa@wbez.org.

WBEZ is answering lots of your other frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 outbreak in Illinois here. Life in Chicago has changed dramatically this past week, from schools and restaurants closing to evolving policies around social distancing and public events. As Chicagoans — and most people across the country — hunker down at home over the next few weeks, Curious City is answering questions about how to safely deal with food, cooking and eating during coronavirus. Please keep in mind that what is known about the virus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, is still evolving. This information does not constitute professional medical advice. For questions regarding your own health, always consult a physician. How safe is it to shop at the grocery store? The main issue with grocery shopping is your exposure to other people and contaminated hard surfaces like grocery carts, freezer handles and credit card swiping machines. Delivery services also involve some contact with people who may handle your produce. “Stay away from other shoppers, [and] don’t hover over someone’s shoulder trying to get the last toilet paper,” said Martin Wiedmann, food safety professor at Cornell University. For this reason, you should shop as infrequently as possible and at off-peak hours. Stores including Jewel-Osco, Dollar General, Target and Whole Foods are even creating special hours for seniors and vulnerable populations. You may also want to check with elderly neighbors to see if you can shop for them. When you must shop, keep a safe distance from other shoppers, wear gloves, wash hands, wipe down surfaces and don’t touch your face. Cook County Resources County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said people can call (708) 633-3319 to speak with county public health professionals or email questions to ccdph.covid19@cookcountyhhs.org. The county is also launching a text alert system that people can sign up for by texting ALERTCOOK to 888-777. Can the virus be transmitted through raw food? As far as experts are aware, at this time, you cannot get the virus from ingesting food. However if you were to touch food that contains the virus and then touch your mouth or eyes or other mucus membranes, you could get it. But the risk is extremely low. “The current thinking is that you really have to inhale it or touch your face and have it come into contact with your mucosa,” said Dr. Jessie Abbate, an infectious disease specialist at Institut de Recherche pour le Développement France. Martin Wiedmann, a professor of food safety at Cornell University, said it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. “Nothing we do right now is zero risk, and food consuming has never been zero risk,” he said. “The lowest risk today will be packaged foods and canned foods. But that doesn’t mean we should not eat fresh vegetables. We’ve got to take care of our overall health, too.” Can the virus be transmitted through cooked food, like bread? See above. The current information suggests that ingestion is not an infection pathway for Covid-19 whether through cooked or raw food. “If you eat it … it goes into your stomach [where it cannot be transmitted],” said Dr. Jessie Abbate, an infectious disease specialist at Institut de Recherche pour le Développement France. “Along the way, it could potentially come into contact with your mucosa [where it might theoretically attach and infect], but it's very unlikely that this is how it transmits.” Can the people who prepared my food transmit the virus to me? Experts say the virus is transmitted person-to-person, through the air or on hard surfaces where it can live up several hours or days. Again, it is not thought to be transmitted through the ingestion of food, but there may be a low risk transmission through fecal contact, where a food worker does not properly wash hands. All food service professionals are supposed to be trained in safety procedures to avoid such transmission, however. What are my takeout and delivery options, and are they safe? In the Chicago area, a site called Dining at a Distance has been building a database of more than 1,000 local restaurants and their options for pick up, delivery and other ways to support restaurants. If you opt for pick up, experts recommend doing so at off-peak hours when you will not likely be waiting in a room with others. If possible, wait outside away from other customers. Read: Follow WBEZ’s coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Chicago and the region. If you are doing delivery, you may want to opt for “no contact” delivery, where the delivery worker leaves the food at your door or other desired location indicated in your online or phone order. But don’t forget to tip. These people are doing important work in trying times. Same principles apply for grocery delivery. After you get the takeout or delivery dishes, treat packaging as you would any surface out of your control by wiping it down, washing or discarding it, and washing your hands again. Again, all professional workers are supposed to be trained in safe food handling, but these are special times. Transfer food into your own clean dishes and enjoy. How do I safely store food? Although authorities urge people to avoid hoarding, many have and will continue to stock up on food during this time. Inevitably, many will buy more than home refrigerators or freezers can hold. These are some aspects of the crisis that Cornell food safety professor Martin Wiedmann is worried about. He said consumers need to be careful about refrigerating excess food in the hall or on their porch, because most of those perishables need to be kept under 40 F for safety. He also warned against things like washing meat in the same sink where you wash vegetables, causing cross-contamination. He noted you don’t need to wash any meat you are going to cook. “Wash your hands before you cook food. Keep raw food, raw chicken, raw meat, etc. away from produce. … Cook things at the proper temperature using USDA temperature guidelines,” he said. He said it’s extra important to take these precautions today. “If someone gets foodborne illness now because of something else — not coronavirus — and has to go to a hospital or has to travel, that exposes them to greater risk.” What pantry staples should I buy to make versatile recipes for my household? Chef Sarah Stegner said her top six pantry staples for this time are dried beans, onions, nuts, oatmeal, plenty of salt and some kind of oil. For versatile meals, she recommends roasting a chicken (at 450 F until the thigh registers 165 F), or you can buy a roast chicken to-go from a restaurant. “I like this because you can get multiple meals out of it,” she said. “And once you have that chicken and [eat most of the meat], you take the bones and the trimmings and make a stock or soup out of it.” You can also freeze that soup to have it ready to go in case someone in your house gets sick. Longtime Chicago chef, baker and restaurateur Ina Pinkney suggested keeping your refrigerator full of eggs and your freezer full of frozen soup. She also suggested cheering up the household by making breakfast for dinner, something like pancakes. “I think it’s the most comforting way to end a day,” she said. You can find the recipe for Pinkney’s famously light, heavenly hot pancakes here. Pinkney said you can find the potato starch in the “Jewish food section of your grocery store.” How should I cook and care for a member of the family who is sick? The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says that when someone in the household is sick, they should stay in their room and be cared for by only one family member. The CDC further advises people who suspect they have COVID-19 to “use a separate bathroom, if available” and “not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with other people or pets in your home. After using these items, they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water.” Authorities have not devised any special dietary recommendations for patients with the virus, but the CDC does recommend drinking plenty of fluids. Is it OK to have friends over for dinner? Experts say no, and the CDC recommends “limiting food sharing” in general. As unsavory as this is, we spit when we talk and touch our faces — more than we realize — and that can spread the virus, said Dr. Jessie Abbate, an infectious disease specialist at Institut de Recherche pour le Développement France. You can be carrying the virus, and be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. “If you're having a dinner party with someone who is infected and shedding [spreading the] virus, you're all gonna get it,” Abbate said. Essentially, when you have dinner with a neighbor, you’re having dinner with them and anyone they’ve had dinner with over the last two weeks. If you still want to have people over, Abbate suggested really limiting who you invite. If you have a friend across the hall that you want to see, she said “stick with them and no one else. Now you have a slightly larger family.” What are some ways to keep enjoying meals with other people? While it’s hard to be isolated from friends and family, especially during mealtimes, here are some creative ways Chicagoans are keeping meals fun and social. Call for advice. Prairie Grass Cafe chef Sarah Stegner is manning a cooking hotline from 2 to 4 p.m. everyday at (847) 920-8437. Stage virtual dinner and cooking parties with friends on apps like Zoom, Google Hangouts and Facetime, like this group of Italians. Share a challenge with household members to come up with the most creative dishes with the staples you still have on hand. Finally learn how to make bread. All you need is flour, water and salt. You don’t even need yeast if you make your own sourdough starter with water and flour. Involve the kids. Chicago chef Cheryl Knecht Munoz is posting daily lessons and recipes you can cook with children home from school on her Sugar Beet Schoolhouse blog. Use the good china and light a candle, says Chicagoan Eilleen Howard Weinberg. Anshe Emet Day School chef Ben Randall is posting daily recipes for kids at SageBZell on Instagram Louisa Chu of the Chicago Tribune plans to start cooking through the Tribune recipe archives on Instagram as well. Special thanks to our questioners Thanks to everyone who sent in food-related coronavirus questions, including: Ned Lot, Jennifer Ptak, M.Hamilton, Helen Micari and Mary Beth N.

Fourteen-year-old Evan Robinson is a Chicago foodie — you might have even seen him on Master Chef Junior. Over the years, when he’s gone to see his orthodontist on 55th Street in Hyde Park, he’s noticed a tasty mystery. “We always see all these different Thai restaurants,” he says, referring to Snail Thai Cuisine, Siam Thai Cuisine and Thai 55 Restaurant.. “I think that’s crazy that there are three [within] one block right here.” Evan’s dad, Christopher, has lived in a lot of Chicago neighborhoods and says he’s noticed similar situations there, too. “There seemed to be a Thai restaurant in almost every neighborhood,” Christopher says. So Evan and Christopher wrote in to Curious City asking: Why are there so many Thai restaurants in Chicago? While there may not be a Thai restaurant in every Chicago neighborhood, there are a lot. According to Thai officials, the greater metropolitan area has about 300 Thai restaurants, but only about 10,000 Thai residents. This breaks down to about one restaurant for every 33 Thai people — twice the national average. In the 1970s, thousands of Thai doctors, nurses and students started immigrating to the U.S., and Illinois was the third most popular destination (behind Los Angeles and New York City). A few of these immigrants started opening restaurants in the early ‘70s, and by the 80’s and ‘90s Chicago was in the middle of a Thai restaurant boom. “It seemed like every few months a Thai restaurant popped up,” says nurse-turned-chef Chanpen Ratana, who at one point owned four Thai restaurants in Chicago. Experts believe this big early wave of Thai immigration laid the familiarity with — and demand for — the solid Thai restaurant scene we have today. As to why so many of these Thai immigrants decided to go into the restaurant business: Thai chefs, business scholars and government officials say it has to do with a culture of cooking and entrepreneurship. Plus, a Thai government “gastrodiplomacy” program aimed at promoting Thai cuisine across the world has given many local restaurants an extra boost. Thais know food Chef Arun Sampathavivat of Arun’s Thai Restaurant says a big reason for the large number of Thai restaurants in Chicago — and across the world — is that Thais are natural cooks. “Thai people usually love to cook. They can cook anything,” Sampathavivat says. “Unlike most people who are not comfortable in the kitchen, most Thais can cook spontaneously right away. It's in them.” While it might sound like hyperbole, several people interviewed for this story gave a similar explanation, and Sampathavivat’s own story suggests there’s some truth to it. He came to Chicago as a University of Chicago graduate student with no cooking training, then became one of the most celebrated Thai chefs in the world. Sampathavivat also notes that many Thais are exposed to quality food culture at an early age as a part of their religious practice. “When Thais go to temple, we bring food to offer to the Buddha, and we have to bring the best we can,” he says. “There is almost an implicit contest. Like, ‘The better I do, the higher level of heaven I can go to.’ The result is that you learn about great food at the temple even outside of your own family.” Thai culture promotes entrepreneurship In a 2016-2017 survey, Thailand ranked second among 65 countries in number of business owners, which carries a high social status in the country. “Thailand is very positive toward entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship” says Ulrike Guelich of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in Bangkok. “We have 20% of the population who are starting a business and 20% who run established businesses.” For Sampathavivat, Thai entrepreneurship comes out of his countrymen’s love of freedom. “Thai people don’t like to be hired by anyone,” he says. “They are not [very] good employees, but they can be a good boss, because they like to have their own thing. They like to be independent.” Despite this independent streak, Sampathavivat says, many Thais are happy to replicate the models of existing businesses and even open them in the same area. “Thai people like to follow the kind of fashion or trend,” Sampathavivat says. “When one is doing this, the other one likes to do it, too. And before you know it [the same businesses are] all over the market just as fast as they can start.” This may help explain some of Chicago’s Thai restaurant clusters — past and present — in Hyde Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Albany Park and downtown. The Thai government gives restaurants support And if a culture of cooking and entrepreneurship isn’t enough? In 2000, the Thai government launched a gastrodiplomacy program aimed at expanding tourism to Thailand by promoting authentic Thai restaurants around the world. The program funded food research and provided money to help restaurateurs design, launch, market and maintain standards in their restaurants. Some have credited the program with the heavy presence of Thai restaurants in the U.S., but data show many were well-established long before the program started. “We go to events like Chicago Gourmet and promote Thai food. We don’t subsidize the restaurants but just do the marketing campaigns for them,” says Chicago Thai Trade representative Usasri Kheorayab. Part of that marketing campaign includes something called the “Thai Select” program. It highlights restaurants that maintain specific quality standards and levels of Thai authenticity. Thai commerce officials award qualifying restaurants with the “Thai Select” seals that you can find in the windows of dozens of Chicago-area Thai restaurants. More about the question asker Evan Robinson was born and raised in Chicago, where he’s now a freshman at William Jones College Preparatory High School. He became a finalist on MasterChef Junior when he was just 10 years old. “That was an amazing experience, because I got to meet a lot of other kids who like cooking like I do,” he says. After MasterChef Junior, “I got a lot of opportunities to do things like work with Whole Foods and the Mushroom Council, where I had a series of videos where we substituted meat with mushrooms for healthier dishes that tasted as amazing, if not better, than they did before.” When he’s not at school or cooking, “I like to play video games and hang out with my friends.” His favorite dish at Snail Thai in Hyde Park is an egg noodle dish called birds nest noodles. But he’s alway up for trying new restaurants with his family. A big fan of eel rolls and spicy salmon rolls, Evan says he’s been eyeing “a new sushi place that opened up in Hyde Park that looks pretty cool.” Monica Eng is a reporter for Curious City. You can follow her @MonicaEng.

Just like the Von Trapp kids, it will soon be time for Tony Sarabia to say goodbye to a place he's spent nearly half my life. So he's saying goodbye with a song. It’s reminiscent of a Morning Shift segment from the past called "Music Thursdays with Richard Steele." Richard and Tony would pick a theme in history, the news or a cultural moment like Mother’s Day, and pick tunes to match. We also opened the phones for listener song picks.

In this episode, Ford finds the Friend Zone, an Unturned update, the Suicide Squad soundtrack, news is not fun to listen to, Hilary Clinton brain damage, Pokemon is fading, a taste test between Swedish Fish Oreos and Cinnamon Bun Oreos, a significant diversion into imaginary numbers and math with a discussion of Numberphile and Algebra vs Geometry.Here are some links from the conversation: Unturned Suicide Squad SoundtrackHilary Clinton Brain DamageMarina JoycePokemon is FadingSwedish Fish OreosCinnamon Bun OreosNumberphile - The Legend of Question Six