Podcast: When Can I Take Off My Mask?

The coronavirus pandemic has led businesses and governments to perform “hygiene theater,” which can give a false sense of security. But how do we thread the needle between being too cautious and too cavalier? Derek Thompson joins James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins to help us understand. Listen to their conversation on the podcast Social Distance:

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What follows is a transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity:

Maeve Higgins: Can you explain what “hygiene theater” is?

I would define as activities that might make you safer, but don’t actually you any safer from the pandemic. A great example of hygiene theater—something that I did a year ago in March and April of 2020—was washing all of my fruits and vegetables with soap.