Topic: Meatpacking

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts stated that undocumented workers in meatpacking plants will not be eligible for the vaccine. The hosts criticize the inconsistent logic of pandemic management, comparing the response to COVID-19 with more transmissible diseases like measles, which never triggered lockdowns or universal masking.

Executive Producer Sir Walkman contributed $1,315 and shared a story about working in a non-union steel factory where workers ran betting pools on workplace injuries. He described personal injuries, including a reattached finger and a shard of steel in his eye. This prompted a discussion on the "Dremel" tool and a comparison to a recent story about COVID-19 betting pools at a meatpacking plant.

A wrongful death lawsuit against Tyson Foods in Waterloo, Iowa, alleges that a plant manager organized a "winner-take-all" betting pool for supervisors to wager on how many employees would test positive for COVID-19. The hosts discuss this as a form of "dead pool" humor common in high-risk environments.

Maurice de Hond's thesis focuses on aerosol transmission rather than surface contact or large droplets, suggesting that low humidity and cool temperatures allow the virus to linger in the air. This theory is used to explain outbreaks in meatpacking plants and predicts the spread of the virus in Brazil based on weather shifts. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of proper ventilation in public spaces and transportation over social distancing.

Donors from Silicon Valley and Pennsylvania contribute to the show, leading to a discussion on the health of essential workers. The hosts note that if grocery store clerks were "dropping like flies," the media would be covering it extensively. Instead, the press focuses on disease clusters in Chinese-owned meatpacking plants. A listener corrects John Dvorak's pronunciation of "disconcerting."