After the Pandemic: a hunger for diversion

Listen to this brief excerpt from the ongoing audio series, US in the Time of Coronavirus, by Connecticut Public Radio: Mary Frances Berry.

“After the disastrous 1918-19 Spanish flu and the end of World War I, many Americans sought carefree entertainment, which the introduction of cars and the radio facilitated. Probably, given past behavior, when this pandemic is over, human beings will respond with the same sense of relief and a search for community, relief from stress and pleasure.”

Mary Frances Berry is professor of American Social Thought and professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She has also served as Provost of the University of Maryland and Chancellor of the University of Colorado.

US In The Time Of Coronavirus is a nine-part series presented by WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio. Professor Berry’s is one of a dozen voices heard here, in the full 50-minute eighth segment.