Old Mole Variety Hour April 26th 2021

Denise Morris Hosts this Episode og the Old Mole which includes

• Viral Epidemics. Bill Resnick interviews David Quammen, a journalist of science, who wrote the book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. Published in 2013 it eerily predicted the Covid pandemic. They discuss viral epidemics and the great threat humanity faces, should a virus develop that is both easily transmitted and very virulent. They also discuss what humans can do to prevent the development and spread of dangerous viruses. And in conclusion Bill discusses the situation of the Biden Administration, relying on the vaccine to create herd immunity but what if one of the variants has developed immunity to the vaccine? What could Biden then do to stop the pandemic and how can he be pushed to do it.
• Paul Robeson. Luisa Martinez interviews Sharon Rudahl, artist and writer of A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson: Ballad of an American. Rudahl was commissioned by Rutgers University Press to create the novel both as a way to honor Robeson, a Rutgers alum, and to make a biography of him accessible to people of all ages. Robeson was world-renowned African-American athlete, singer, actor, scholar, and activist who fought for anti-colonialism, civil rights, and international peace. The book was published in honor of his graduation from the university in 1919. 
• May Day 2021. Jan Haaken talks with Taylor Gibson about May Day events this year, highlighting a picnic and march in support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, or PRO Act, passed by the House in Congress but up against considerable odds in the Senate. Gibson is Secretary of the Portland DSA Chapter and Co-chair of the chapter’s Pass the PRO Act campaign, which is part of a National DSA campaign. They talk about the importance of the legislation at this juncture in labor history and the larger struggle for racial justice.