This week the top infectious diseases expert in the U.S. was told he was not welcome at a coronavirus task force press briefing. Apparently the administration is still not a fan of reality.

Speaking of reality, the Republican Party now accepts the realities that COVID-19 is spreading out of control in Florida and that holding a series of mass indoor events in an infection epicenter during a pandemic is murder...yet apparently the GOP does not accept the reality that Jacksonville in August is crazy hot and humid and full of mosquitoes as they make arrangements to move events to outdoor venues. In Jacksonville. In August. Did I mention that it tends to rain 11 days during the month of August in Jacksonville?

The Orange Menace proclaimed that the CDC guidelines for re-opening schools safely this fall are "too expensive." Meanwhile he brags about the size of the obscene $740 billion military budget.

He also says he won't sign the military spending bill if it includes a provision which prevents the use of the U.S. military against peaceful protesters and another which allows for the re-naming of military bases currently named for traitors who fought explicitly for the evil cause of perpetuating slavery.

The good news is that the race-baiting sociopath who manages to make Mississippi legislators look enlightened is finally seeing his polling numbers slip. The bad news is those numbers remain roughly  10x higher than they would be if Fox News -- which publicly admitted last month that it's highest rated star *doesn’t necessarily do any research and what he says isn’t necessarily true* -- spoke truth to its viewers instead of stoking white Christian resentment.

Instead the Fox-lobotomized yell at considerate people for wearing masks in public (which, it somehow must still be noted, protect others more than the wearer) and blame China for the state we're in even though the results of President Pandemic's obvious, repeated, ego- and idiocy-fueled failures are what forced the European Union to ban travel by U.S. citizens and Mexico to close its border with Arizona. Thanks to our stable genius and his enablers a global superpower has been transformed into a shit hole country (to use his words) isolated from its allies and mocked by...just about everyone.

Who would you trust if you were feeling awful and were told that you needed a stent ASAP or you will die? Would you trust the advice of multiple renowned surgeons who have read your chart, or the psychotic white nationalist schmuck with a spray tan who definitely did not read your chart but kinda sorta maybe owns the hospital and was on TV handing out medical advice that contradicts that of the medical professionals? Take your time thinking that one over.

Today's show will be live-hosted from 9am-5pm Eastern U.S. Time and feature new music by Dream Wife (London, England, @DreamWifeMusic),  Holy Wave (Austin, TX, @holy_wave),  Moscow Apartment (Toronto, Canada, @moscowapt), and  Throwing Muses (Providence, RI, @kristinhersh).

The marathon 8-hour show is followed by 2 hours of uninterrupted music and is then rebroadcast in its entirety beginning at 7 p.m. Friday,  5 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, and one final time at 1 a.m. on Sunday. That is followed by a rebroadcast of a  Fuzzy Road radio show at 11 a.m. and then a couple of old  480 Minutes episodes from this week in past years, making for hosted shows all weekend long.

Tune in and chat with fellow listeners on  Slack. Hanging out and yakking it up with real humans in a virtual conference room is (usually, and especially these isolating times) better than not hanging out and yakking it up with other humans.

Keep track of BAGeL Radio's live-hosted shows and re-runs with our handy dandy program schedule, which you can import into your favorite calendar program, embedded here: