New Normal

Listen to Our "New Normal in California" Podcasts

Doing live, in-person events is off the table for a while, but we’re still interviewing Californians doing groundbreaking things during “Pandemic Time.”

So here is our podcast series “The New Normal in California.” We started it in April, and over the summer – or however long it takes before we get the all-clear to leave our houses and enter other places again – we’ll be looking at the ways our coronavirus-affected lives are changing over the short- and long-term, and talking with Californians who are making significant change in this New Normal.

Episode 1: How DId This Thing Get Started? We talk with a top UC Davis epidemiologist about animals, humans, how they mix, how that leads to deadly pandemics, and how we can reduce them.

Episode 2: How Will This Thing (Hopefully) End? A conversation with two UC Davis medical researchers who are part of the global team working round-the-clock on the race to create an effective vaccine.

Episode 3: Ordinary People Doing Amazing Things We talk with a couple of guys who stepped up to make protective gear for essential workers, and got their local communities to volunteer time, skills and financial support.

Episode 4: One Chef’s Plan to Feed California and Save Its Restaurants Patrick Mulvaney started cooking up his biggest project yet: serving thousands of meals to Sacramento’s most vulnerable people. And now his project is scaling statewide.

Episode 5: Fixing California’s Broken Food Supply Chain A conversation with a cattle rancher and a farming advocate who are literally “in the field” and seeing how pandemic-induced glitches in the food supply chain are playing out.

Episode 6: Grocery Stores and Their Post-Pandemic Future A top executive at Raley’s Supermarkets tells us how the lessons grocery stores are learning today will shape the way we all get our groceries in the future.

Episode 7: TV and Podcast Picks to Pass the Pandemic Time A few people who read books, watch TV and produce podcasts for a living, give us their picks for current news, "comfort food" selections, learning new skills and hobbies, connecting better with others, and celebrating life.

Episode 8: Strategies for Keeping Your Mental Health Strong and Sound The Chief Wellness Officer at UC Davis Health System gives tips and advice for being less stressed and more upbeat.

Episode 9: The Future of Restaurants A Michelin-starred chef and the CEO of the California Restaurant Association tell us what dining out will look like in the New Normal.