It's been a year since Covid hit the United States and radically altered our lives. It won't be news to most that the Trump administration completely botched their response to the pandemic, and even under a Biden administration, the state has been slow to move on a lot of the promises that were made during the lead up to November's election. Is this changing? In this conversation, we dove deep into the details and specifics of the United States' political response to Covid with Eric Levitz, senior writer for New York Magazine's Intelligencer blog. Eric wrote a piece titled, "Coronavirus Creates an Opening for Progressivism — Also Barbarism," where he explored what Covid means for the future of politics in the United States. What political cracks in fishers has Covid opened up? What divisions has it given rise to? What new forms of connection? How has it demonstrated the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in our political system, both domestically and also in how we interface with the rest of the world? Is the United States moving towards a period of more right-wing or neoliberal barbarism? Or will the Covid crisis finally be a wake up call to move towards a more just, equitable, and solidaristic form of politics? These are just some of the questions we explore in this conversation. This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.