"They Rely On Me": An Update From A USPS Mail Carrier

"They Rely On Me": An Update From A USPS Mail Carrier

The United States Postal Service has been in the news a lot in the past week, as national anxiety rises about the upcoming presidential election, mail-in ballots, and the Postmaster General's recent cost-cutting changes to the mail system.  Our listener Beth is a mail carrier in rural Maine who first wrote to us back in March about being an essential worker, and her fears of contracting and spreading COVID-19 on her route. "I don't know if this virus is on the mail," she said then. "The packages, the mailboxes. I touch everything."  When we checked in with Beth more recently, she told us some of those fears have lessened for her. But now, she's facing new pandemic-related challenges at work, including childcare issues, and delivering a lot more packages. "I definitely run from my truck to a house to drop off a package and I run back to my truck and it's go, go, go, go, go all day long," she said, adding that because she gets paid a set rate for her rural route, "I get paid for 43 hours [per week] no matter what." Listen to our episode about essential workers, including Beth, from earlier this spring.

Episoder(150)

A Widow’s Guide To Grieving

A Widow’s Guide To Grieving

Five years ago, Leslie Gray Streeter's husband, Scott, had a heart attack and died. And in the immediate aftermath of losing her husband, who was just 44 years old, she says she found herself being hy...

15 Jul 202027min

Books We Love: Michael Arceneaux’s “I Don’t Want To Die Poor”

Books We Love: Michael Arceneaux’s “I Don’t Want To Die Poor”

I always love talking with writer Michael Arceneaux. Last year, he joined me on the show to discuss his bestselling collection of essays, "I Can't Date Jesus," as well as growing up gay in a Catholic ...

10 Jul 202051min

What Money Can't Solve

What Money Can't Solve

On November 2, 1983, Darrell Cannon was woken up by the Chicago police banging on his door. He knew the drill. As a longtime gang member, run-ins with the cops were common. He'd already served more th...

8 Jul 202030min

Skin Hunger: Part 2

Skin Hunger: Part 2

A listener we're calling Elle ended her relationship a few minutes after 2020 began. And she describes it as a pretty devastating breakup: "Basically I was on quarantine for two months already before ...

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Skin Hunger: Part 1

Skin Hunger: Part 1

A few months ago, Nick van der Kolk, the host of the podcast Love + Radio, tweeted: "If I were @annasale, I'd be asking my listeners how they're coping with a lack of physical touch in their lives." S...

29 Jun 202024min

When Six Feet Isn't An Option

When Six Feet Isn't An Option

As parts of the country start to reopen and some people consider venturing out of their homes more often, there are millions of people who haven't been able to socially distance throughout this time—s...

24 Jun 202025min

An Essential Worker, Going Back In

An Essential Worker, Going Back In

Back in April, we shared stories from our listeners who are essential workers. They described what they were seeing on the job, how they were feeling, and what they were doing to cope with not being a...

17 Jun 202030min

I Love You, But There's This Money Thing...

I Love You, But There's This Money Thing...

We like to think of our romantic lives as pure and unbothered by the cold business of spreadsheets and tax documents. But here's the thing: serious relationships are both romantic and financial partne...

10 Jun 202027min

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