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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We're going to end the show today with a call in on news from your Thanksgiving at 212-433-WNYC. You know how in the recent past we've taken your calls featuring news from your block, or your home country if you're an immigrant, or your corner of the internet? Well, since Thanksgiving has just passed and we've all been through some journey these past four or five days, we're going to add to this series and take calls on news from your Thanksgiving celebrations. 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692.

We do have two specific questions in mind, which I'll lay out in a minute, but it really can be anything. It can be the hot gossip, like maybe someone in your family brought home an interesting new bow, good or bad, or a hushed family secret was unearthed, maybe a family feud spilled out into an all-out fight over the cranberry sauce. Call us with your news from Thanksgiving, 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692.

The two questions we'll lay out here that you might answer but don't have to do with COVID and Thanksgiving and the World Cup and Thanksgiving. On COVID, what COVID precautions did you take during this third Thanksgiving of the pandemic year? Did you take any precautions anymore here in year three? Did you require testing? Did you require masks? Did it depend on the age or medical vulnerability of the people there? I know families that just have run the gamut here, from some that were still largely virtual and did things on Zoom with some vulnerable members that they wanted to protect.

I know families that had like 25 people, no mask, no testing, no nothing, people of all ages, a lot of loud cheering for some of the sports events that took place on television. People ran the gamut. How about COVID and your Thanksgiving, what precautions, if any, did you and your loved ones take this year to prevent transmission? I hope you have more than one loved one.

212-433-WNYC, 433-9692, or for that matter, did anybody have a super-spreader Thanksgiving? I'm not talking about the butter. Anybody have a super-spreader Thanksgiving? Is that still happening? Did you catch COVID this Thanksgiving? You probably know by now, or are you currently feeling guilty about bringing COVID to your party, knowingly or not? 212-433-9692.

The other thing that I'll just throw out there as a Thanksgiving-related story that you might want to tell is about FIFA and the World Cup. There were multiple games on on Thanksgiving as well as through the weekend, and maybe you heard the show recently when we discussed the reasons why some people are boycotting watching the World Cup on television this year because of all the things that are going on in the host country of Qatar.

For example, thousands of migrant workers perishing while building the infrastructure to hold the game and the unsafe conditions for them that the nation's government is considered responsible for. There's the soccer federation's mandate against Rainbow Arm bands that show support for the LGBTQ community. You've heard about that, some of you have, which was an order likely stemming from the Qatari government. Given what about all the problems with the World Cup this year, did you and your family watch soccer at your Thanksgiving celebration? Did you boycott?

I know one family that says they're using their children's soccer fandom to discuss human rights abuses, letting them watch, but then talk about what the issues around this World Cup have been. Interesting approach. How about the World Cup and Thanksgiving? How about COVID and Thanksgiving? How about that interesting or ooh or eww new bow that somebody brought home? 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692, or tweet at Brian Lehrer with your news from Thanksgiving and we'll take your calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to news from your Thanksgiving. David in Hastings, you're on WNYC. Hi, David.

David: Hi, Brian. My mom had caught COVID like a week or two before Thanksgiving and she and my dad were not taking any precautions or separating or quarantining. Even though she tested negative technically before Thanksgiving day, we just decided to X thanksgiving altogether because we didn't know if my dad was going to pop positive. Morning of or while we were there or the next day after, so we just [unintelligible 00:05:53]

Brian Lehrer: Do I get from what you said that they were ready to interact with everybody, but you were like, "No, I don't think so"?

David: Yes. I don't blame them for-- My mom tested positive and they just [unintelligible 00:06:11] They're all vaxxed and usually reasonable people, but they just didn't really take any precautions while my mom was sick. We were just like-- My wife has had it, I've had it, my brother and sister-in-law and their kid have all had it and we just don't want to risk getting it again because it kicks everyone's butts and screws up our-

Brian Lehrer: Yes, the rest of your life at the moment.

David: -life plans.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. David, thank you very much for checking in. I'm sorry that happened. Kylie in Ridgewood, the New Jersey Ridgewood, not the Queens one, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kylie.

Kylie: Hey, happy holidays.

Brian Lehrer: You too.

Kylie: At Thanksgiving, my aunt came, who's in her late 60s and she's recently widowed. We all had a lot of wine and it was a really nice time. At one point, she asked me and my sister to sneak into the back room and we went. She opened her phone and she started scrolling through her phone. She has all of these hot new hookups and she was showing pictures of her new hookups and we were like, "Yes, aunty, go."

Brian Lehrer: This is your aunt.

Kylie: Life goes on. Nice.

Brian Lehrer: When you say pictures of her hookups, how explicit were these pictures?

Kylie: A couple of them were like Taekwondo instructors and stuff, and she's from the Midwest, so there were no stakes. They were topless and looking good. She's getting it and good for her.

Brian Lehrer: Kylie, thank you very much. All right. There's an unusual Thanksgiving moment. Kathy in Monroe, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kathy.

Kathy: Hi, Brian. Nice to talk to you. I actually called in when you did your changing of the guard series on Thanksgiving last week. We went to Connecticut and it was great fun. My son had had COVID about two weeks prior, but he did test negative. Then we had said to everybody, very large family, "Let's all test." Then turns out only half of them tested. My son tested negative, but he brought a mask just in case somebody wanted him to wear it, so it was like a half and half. Then we had somebody's nanny was from Brazil, so we had the soccer game on in one room, we had all the football games on in another room, but it was a lot of fun. It was a great day.

Brian Lehrer: Kathy, thank you very much. Glad that worked out. Let's see, how about Bill in Clinton Hill, you're on WNYC. Hi, Bill.

Bill: Hey, Brian. How's it going, man? My parents who are both in their 70s came up early last week. We're most of my family is in New York, so all us were going to have Thanksgiving together on Thursday. Of course, Thursday morning, I test positive for COVID and my parents are staying in my apartments. It totally just ruined our whole weekend. They were able to have a good Thanksgiving without me, which is great, but there were a couple of basketball games we were going to go to and all the family stuff we were going to do together, and it's all just hasn't happened, which has been a real drag.

Brian Lehrer: You got it and then they got it staying with you or they managed to avoid it?

Bill: My mom just tested positive today, so not good. We've been taking all precautions, wearing masks inside the apartment. We thought it was going to work out and now she tested positive, but everybody's feeling fine, the symptoms, were all boosted and vaxxed and all that stuff, so everybody's feeling okay.

Brian Lehrer: Bill, thank you very much. All right. We're hearing from our callers. This is the bulk of calls that we are getting. Various COVID precaution stories, various COVID-positive testing stories. There's Bill's story with some Thanksgiving-related COVID transmission. How about Peter in Midtown, who I think has something different for us. Hi, Peter, you're on WNYC.

Peter: Brian, thanks for taking my call. Went to Connecticut for a rather large gathering of two families, and I'd say there were about 16 or 18 people there. There were retired people, young, just out of college, some still in college. I was curious and I asked anybody what they thought about Elon Musk and Twitter, and basically, to a person, nobody cares. That was the big takeaway. I am amazed at how there was zero interest in that entire story. People just trying to shrug it off, they don't care. I think it's a lesson to us when these stories are dominating the news cycle, that it's just such a small segment of the population that actually cares.

Brian Lehrer: I think that that's right. That's a lesson for, and we see it in this sophisticated politicians and activists and strategists and all the people in that sector, even shows like this where if you want to reach the maximum number of people with your message, with your campaign, if you're a politician, whatever, you have to assume a lot less knowledge on the part of a lot of people than those who really, really follow the news. There are layers of communication, even in the last segment.

Our climate story, when you talk about science and public health, you assume some people know a lot, but most people know so little and it becomes this big act of communication on many levels at once. That's interesting that you ran into that at Thanksgiving, and sounds like that was surprising. I want to give Anita in Wilton what I think is going to be the last word here. I'll let her tell it. Anita, you're on WNYC. Hi.

Anita: Hi, Brian. I'm calling because I was sick for about three weeks with an unknown mystery fever and was in the hospital admitted for Thanksgiving. I want to tell you that I'm grateful for all the people at Stanford Hospital, the doctors, the staff who took such good care of me. My children were there, we played Scrabble, and finally, I was able to leave the hospital on Friday and with a little bit of appetite and my daughter made a fantastic happy turkey Thanksgiving on Saturday.

Brian Lehrer: That's great.

Anita: My son got engaged officially, his fiancé was there. Just the message is one has to be grateful and recognize every day and be grateful that one's well and grateful for all those people who work on these holidays to keep us well.

Brian Lehrer: So beautifully said, Anita, and I'm glad you're better and out of the hospital. What a perfect way to wrap up your news from Thanksgiving.

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