In our final episode of Season Two, we reflect on our conversations from this season and talk about the amazing guests who shared their stories with us. Then, we close by sharing an original piece called "Cracks: A World Shaped By COVID-19" that reflects on the injustices of our society and muses on how America will be different once the worst of the pandemic passes (06:15). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In our penultimate episode of Season Two, we talk with Abby Benson and Clare O'Brien, RNs serving in different North Carolina hospitals, about the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on their work as nurses. At the beginning, we ask Clare and Abby to share a bit about themselves and discuss how their experiences working in hospitals have been similar or different to the accounts of healthcare workers documented in the media (02:00). Then, we ask the two of them to share with our listeners what it would feel like to walk in their shoes during a shift for a day (09:05). At the break, we discuss how social distancing can help save lives by "flattening the curve" of the virus and limiting the number of people requiring hospitalization at the same time (15:20). Later, we invite Clare and Abby to share things that have surprised them and giving them hope during this unique season working in healthcare (19:40) before finally inviting them to share how their faith has been affected by the impact of the virus (32:05). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Hill & Alex "Big" Blake to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on sports. In the beginning, we discuss how no live sports on TV has affected each of us (01:50) and the unique challenges facing sports like UFC and WWE as they plan upcoming events without fans (06:05). Then, we talk about whether golf would be better or worse without fans and debate whether The Masters in November will still be engaging to watch (07:30). At the break, we share a story from our neighborhood about a local teacher serving meals to her students' families and invite listeners to partner with her (16:00). After we return, we share the oddities of watching championship replays on TV (17:40) and laugh about the absurdity of seeing NBA players playing NBA 2K and H.O.R.S.E. on TV (19:00). Finally, we talk about the potential upside of players being quarantined and forced to practice alone (24:00) and wonder aloud about potential timelines and/or restrictions on live sports coming back into our lives (25:55). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we sit down with Suz Arant, a childhood friend of Elizabeth’s, to talk about her recent engagement to her fiancé, Nate, and the impact of COVID-19 on their wedding planning process. At the beginning, Suz shares how the virus has affected her day-to-day life as an elementary school teacher in the Memphis area (03:30). Then, we ask Suz to share the story of how she and Nate met as well as the details of the proposal (06:10) and invite her to share her top wedding priorities from the pre-Coronavirus planning season (13:10). During the break, we share an opportunity for our listeners to partner with the company JOANN as they work to create 100 million masks for medical professionals assisting those affected by COVID-19 (16:05). When we return, we invite Suz to share how she is doing with the changes brought about by this season and the impact that the virus has had on their wedding plans (17:30). Finally, Suz shares some things she is grieving during this time and where she finds her hope going forward (32:20). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we talk with Sanchez Fair, father, artist, small business owner and pastor, about the impact of the virus on his family and business, as well as the effects of the pandemic on communities of color around the country. At the beginning, Sanchez shares about his wife and two boys and how the changes brought about by this season have affected their family dynamics (01:55). Then, we ask Sanchez about the effect that the virus has had on his work (06:50) and look deeper into the disruption of his business, Stable Hand (10:50). At the break, we share how our listeners can support Stable Hand and its employees during this nontraditional season (16:25). When we return, we discuss the impact that closing everything except essential businesses has had on poorer communities of color as well as the unique challenge of properly defining what is “essential” when giving guidelines to broad groups of people (18:05). Later, we talk about the history and circumstances that have made people of color more vulnerable to the health risks and economic fallout caused by the virus (28:00). Finally, Sanchez shares his vision for how he hopes the Church will respond to this international pandemic and offers hope for people whose lives have been upended by COVID-19 (36:30). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we talk with Ashley Cramer, Associate Pastor at Center City Church in Charlotte, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both our faith community and faith communities around the world. First, Ashley shares about her background as a missionary in various countries (02:20) and how her work as a pastor has changed since the coronavirus restrictions took place (05:20). Next, we ask Ashley to share how Center City (little "C" church!) is responding to the pandemic and trying to meet the needs of the community (11:10). At the break we share about #CLTStrong, a GoFundMe started to purchase meals from local restaurants and provide them to hospital staff on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients (15:35). Later, we ask Ashley to share some spiritual advice to people who are affected by the impact of this virus (17:10) and discuss how the Big "C" Church is responding during this season and wonder together what changes the virus might bring about in the world a year from now (23:25). To support #CLTStrong visit bit.ly/lookclosercltstrong Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we talk with Natalie and Riley Davis, Cru missionaries in Prague, about the effect of the Coronavirus outbreak and its impact on modern evangelism. At the beginning, Riley and Natalie share about their purpose in Prague and what life was like before COVID-19 restrictions took effect there a few weeks ago (01:55). Then, both share their perspectives on being Americans living in Europe amidst a global pandemic and the unique position of observing the outbreak's effects in the United States from far way (05:55), and at the break we share how our listeners can partner with Second Harvest Food Bank to provide meals for families in need in the Charlotte area (19:30). Next, Natalie and Riley share what it's been like working for an international missions organization during this season, as well as whether or not they considered returning to the U.S. when the outbreak worsened a few weeks ago (21:05). Finally, we discuss how the restrictions on life brought about by this pandemic could lead to significant changes in how evangelism is done in the future (25:15) and ask Riley and Natalie to share how their faith in Jesus has been tested by the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (31:35). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we invite Conor and Sara Kay Mooney on to talk about how the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting their family and careers. At the beginning, we invite them to share a little bit about themselves (01:40) and check in to see how their daily routines with having two young children have shifted with the stay-at-home mandate going into effect this week (04:25). Then, Conor shares about his experience working for a retirement community and the effect that the pandemic is having on the residents that he serves (12:00). After that, we take a quick break to discuss how listeners can support Charlotte service workers during this season through #tipCLT (16:35). After the break, we invite Conor and Sara Kay to share how COVID-19 has affected their children and how they are interpreting the life change (18:40) and talk about how the virus has disrupted and challenged students and those who work in education (28:25). Finally, we close by inviting the Mooneys to share how this pandemic has impacted their faith and has challenged them to look to the Lord during this season (34:40). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In this episode, we dive into the history of the Coronavirus and how this outbreak compares to past pandemics in American history. We start by sharing current statistics and news surrounding the state of the Coronavirus pandemic (01:25). Then, we look at the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic to try to gain insight on what we might expect from over the next few months (03:30) and discuss vaccines and the particular challenge of creating a medical solution to address COVID-19 (13:00). Next, we discuss ways you can help young Charlotteans affected by the pandemic (16:40) and compare/contrast the H1N1 2009 Pandemic with COVID-19. Finally, we share why the virus has been so hard to track, test and contain since the first cases started appearing in December 2019 (22:00) and end with hope by sharing a poem by Dr. Anthony Abbott (28:30). Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod

In our first episode of Season Two (our 20th overall episode), we discuss the return of our podcast and the impact that COVID-19 is having on our community and around the world. We invite our listeners to join us in sharing how the virus is affecting them and talk about our vision for using this podcast to help those in need. Please message us on Instagram or Twitter if you or someone you know is facing hardship due to the impact of the spread of the virus, and we will do our best to share it with our podcast community. Share your feedback on Instagram or Twitter! @lookcloserpod