the entire @dropout team¶

I want to take a moment to commend @samreich and the entire @dropout team for their consistency and transparency around COVID. It is shockingly rare to see even a passing mention of COVID in any mass media, except in the vein of "Oh haha remember that?" It's NEVER present tense. By contrast, Dropout has remained vigilant and completely open about that fact. They are fully aware that COVID is still here, still serious, and still worth avoiding. We constantly see shots of the crew in respirators, and it feels like an intentional reminder to the audience. And when @GrantOB recently got COVID, they didn't try to hide that fact at all. They had substitutes that we wouldn't have even noticed were replacements, given the nature of the revolving cast, but still specifically pointed out "We had to make changes because Grant got COVID." Obviously, this was revealed only with Grant's permission, which again speaks to the overall culture of transparency. COVID is not treated as "don't ask, don't tell," like it so often is in everyday life, but especially when it comes to public-facing people and media. It's pretty uncharacteristic of me to heap praise on any company or public figure, especially for something that should be such a basic, obvious thing. I feel like I'm celebrating being tossed a few crumbs of recognition that COVID is still something to care about. And yet here we are. Thank you for the crumbs.

Sam, if you're reading this, I would love to interview you on Dropout's COVID culture, the details of your protocols, and how it came to be that you have stayed so on top of this. Thanks! 💖