[music]

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. By the way, let me tease something that's going to come right at the end of the show. We're going to end with a musical treat as we go into this weekend. That's coming up. That's like 15 minutes away. I pulled one piece of music from the DNC last night that we will go out onto. There was a lot of good music. John Legend and Common, awesome, but that's not what we're going to play, and some of the other stuff.

They used that Bruce Springsteen song, The Rising, over and over again, or it was from the album, The Rising, which was Bruce Springsteen's 911 album, post 911. That hope in dark times, I don't know how much of a Bruce Springsteen listener you have to be to pick that up, but that was his anthem album for the recovery of New York and New Jersey and America after 911, so very much for these times. They used that as a theme throughout the four nights of the Democratic Convention. That's not the song that I'm going to play, pulled one that I just felt was one of the best done renditions of a song you have heard a million times, and we'll end with that today.

First, what's the biggest way that you're changing your life long term because of the coronavirus? 646-435-7280, 646-435-7280, maybe your stories will help some other people who are grappling with long-term questions now about their own lives. Victoria in Los Angeles, you're on WNYC. Hi from New York, Victoria, thanks so much for calling in.

Victoria: Good morning, Brian, great to be on. My big change is that-- First of all, I'm living in Los Angeles for the summer. I moved here in June to be closer to family, where I'm originally from, and then, I flew out here. I purchased a car just last week to drive across the country with a friend who's joining me here. I'm going to keep the car in New York. It's the first car I bought since 1991.

Brian: You are one of those people. What do you plan to use it for here? Did you use to take the subway all the time?

Victoria: I used to take the subway all the time. I'm going to still take the subway. I'm not going to use it for local trips. What I'm going to do is, while New York is continuing to get back on track, when I wake up on a Saturday and it's a beautiful day in November, I've got a dog, I just want to go for a hike, take the car out to the suburbs and have a nice day or maybe a longer weekend. Since I'm not going to be going to theater and I'm not going to be going dining in and out, I'm looking at winter ahead and just the opportunity to take advantage of the New York City region more without renting expensive cars.

Brian: Victoria, thank you so much. I'm going to leave it there to get some other people on. Thank you very much. Good luck out in LA. Good luck with your car. How much are some of you cringing at these car stories? The stat that I have is nearly 40,000 cars were registered in July in New York City. Is that a state figure? I'm looking to see if that's a state figure or a city figure.

According to the DMV, that's 9,000 more compared to last year, 34,000 in June, which is up 2000 from last year. Whether or not that's a New York City figure or a New York State figure, it probably represents an increase in downstaters owning cars. Victoria there is one of them, and other people are saying, "Oh, not that in the era of climate change and everything else." Ken in South River, New Jersey, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ken.

Ken: Hey, Brian. Thanks for having me.

Brian: What's your big change?

Ken: I've decided that I want to be living in Portugal for the time being. I've been there for four years now. I moved shortly before the Trump election. I've been making a life there for myself. I'm back in New Jersey now for my sister's wedding, but just looking at the response to things here and looking at the fact I can't go to the gym and the restaurant quite comfortably in Portugal, I'll be happy to be going back this weekend.

Brian: Do you feel like Portugal has done something that the US hasn't done? Obviously, it's a much smaller country, but when I look at the overall stats, I was looking at them last week, all of Europe combined-- I happened to be looking at stats for last Friday that Washington Post columnist, Brian Klaas, tweeted out, and roughly, all of Europe had around 100 deaths from coronavirus last Friday, the United States, with fewer people, had more than 1100 deaths.

We shouldn't talk about cases only, but we should talk about deaths. The ratio of deaths in the United States to any other country is just unbelievable in terms of how it reflects the failure. Do you feel like they did anything else, anything in particular, in Portugal, since you've been living there since before this started that has kept it down that we don't do?

Ken: It's hard to say. I would think that maybe just having a smaller population and having that exponential boom is probably a big factor. I'd like to think there's maybe a mask thing as well, but since I've come here, I see everyone wearing masks, so I don't really know if that's quite the problem that I've seen and reported upon in other sources. It seems like people are happy to wear their masks and comply in Portugal pretty comfortably. Maybe that's not the case here, but that really hasn't been my experience.

Brian: Ken, thank you so much for your call. I really appreciate it. Amanda in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Amanda.

Amanda: Hello. Hi, Brian. Good morning. [crosstalk]

Brian: What's the biggest change you're making?

Amanda: The biggest change, pre-pandemic, I work in film and television and I was working 12 to 14 hour days as a post-production supervisor, and I've taken the pandemic to try and unionize my role.

Brian: Aha. In other words, since that the production job itself isn't happening right now and you don't know when it's going to, you're taking the time to get involved in organizing the people in your workplace or in your industry.

Amanda: Right, absolutely. Post-production supervisors are some people- one of the few roles that isn't unionized. We don't have overtime pay. We don't have a lot of the rights and protections. We are forced to work longer on our contracts. It was really difficult to have any time to voice these concerns before the pandemic, and now that we have the time, it's been really wonderful to build the community and meet other people this way.

Brian: What would you say to folks, maybe your managers, who might say, "Now when there's not even any work, you're going to organize and get tougher on what you're asking for"?

Amanda: It's a great question. Strangely, it doesn't seem like the right time, but it actually is because no one has a manager over their shoulder that they're nervous about hurting or insulting or answering to. Now is the time when we're free of that. We have a lot of time. I've gotten so much outreach from people just saying, "I have time, please let me help." [chuckles] It's really the moment to do it. Also, the contracts up for renegotiation. We're trying to be included in the Motion Picture Editors Guild, and the contracts are up for renegotiation April 2021. Really, this is the only time to try and push for this.

Brian: Amanda, thank you. Peter in Astoria, you're on WNYC. Hi, Peter, thanks for calling.

Peter in Astoria: Hi, thanks for taking my call. I'm an airline pilot. I've been flying out of New York for about two years, and recently, decided to take a long-term voluntary leave of absence before they started doing the furloughs. I'm really lucky that I have the GI Bill, so instead of working, I'll be a full-time student working on my master's degree.

Brian: What are you going to get your Master's degree in?

Peter in Astoria: Global affairs.

Brian: You can fly from country to country and spread your expertise? No, I'm kidding.

Peter in Astoria: Hopefully, maybe.

Brian: Yes? You want to work in international affairs?

Peter in Astoria: I mean, I'd like to. Fortunately, I have a lot of interests, a lot of things that I'd like to do. This is just a backup plan if I end up getting a job after grad school. I'm really liking that, and I'd rather do that instead of flying. That's an option, but I can always come back to flying. I really love doing that too.

Brian: Do you think it's safe to fly?

Peter in Astoria: Do I think it's safe to fly? It depends. If you're able to social distance and, at least, have the middle seat empty and wear a face mask, then, I think it's-- Personally, I would do it, but I also live by myself, and it's not difficult for me to self-quarantine for two weeks after I get back.

Brian: Peter, thank you so much, and good luck with everything. Peter in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Peter.

Peter in Manhattan: Hi, how are you?

Brian: Good. What's the big change you're making?

Peter in Manhattan: I'm basically a long time Bay Ridge, Brooklynite moving out into Connecticut, bought a home a few days right before the shutdown for better or for worse. I'm an architect basically working for a construction company that's dragged me out into work outside the Manhattan, towards the outskirts Westchester, Connecticut, upstate Jersey. All my work has taken me out of the city itself. I'm averaging about 150 miles, 100 miles a day by car. I only took the subway for a good 20 years of my life.

Brian: You're going to live in Connecticut instead of New York?

Peter in Manhattan: Yes. Basically, it seems like all the construction projects are slowing down in Manhattan. A lot of construction projects are picking up in Connecticut, I'd say, Jersey, Upstate, lots of people moving.

Brian: There's a report from the front on all that moving out of the city, property values going down in the city, property values going up outside. I think we have time for one more. Lucy. We're going to have to go to a different Lucy. Lucy in Park Slope, you're on WNYC. Hi, Lucy.

Lucy: Hi.

Brian: Go ahead. How old are you, and how are you making a big change in your life?

Lucy: I'm eight, and when it's flu season in winter, I'm going to wear masks mostly and wash my hands and be more careful about sneezing into my elbow.

Brian: There you go. Maybe you will never forget to sneeze into your elbow again even after coronavirus goes away. Lucy, thank you so much. Thanks to all of you who called with the major changes in your life. There were so many of them that we will definitely have to do this again. We're going to end the week on the show with a piece of music. After all our coverage of the Democratic Convention this week, and with our Republican Convention coming up next week, how about The Chicks' version of The Star-Spangled Banner from last night? Why? Just because it was such a beautiful rendition, one of the best that I've ever heard to my ears with their three-part harmony.

Listeners, you can stand, you can sit, you can kneel, I don't care as long as, if you're in a car, one of those new cars you just bought to live in Manhattan with, that you don't drive off the road. I will mention that this is the group that changed their name recently from the Dixie Chicks to drop Dixie, their version of taking down the Confederate flag. They salute the unifying flag now, the American Flag, and they serenaded it last night.

[The Chicks singing The Star-Spangled Banner]

O say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

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