Panhandle PBS seeks to highlight the gaps in our society that have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as what those challenges mean in our region, through a new podcast series with Senior Content Producer Karen Welch called “The Number.”
Each podcast episode will focus on a statistic at the heart of issues arising during the pandemic and beyond.
“We wanted to make a podcast that can connect people to a truer sense of the Texas Panhandle — one that provides context for the statistics that help define our local community,” Welch said. “Numbers, but what do they really mean?”
“The Number” aims to connect the statistic to the listener, their friends, family or neighborhoods to help make current situations become more personal. The podcast also aims to discuss creative solutions being used.
What you can expect from initial episodes:
- Examine the impact COVID-19 has had on the hospitals in our smaller communities, the need to keep those hospitals in operation and the evolving world of healthcare
- Talk about rising hunger in the wake of the pandemic and how the impact of it can be felt beyond the dinner table.
- Look at job loss, where COVID-19 hit hardest and how wages have factored into reopening.
- Address the digital divide and how the lack of internet access in neighborhoods and communities affects education, jobs, and business opportunities.
- Discuss the paycheck protection program and where funds flowed into the community.
- Zero in on Amarillo neighborhoods, what areas are locked in poverty and how some hope to drive change.
“The Number” provides a virtual method of community gathering in the safety of listeners’ own homes, vehicles or wherever their portable electronic devices take them, while at the same time helping listeners to feel less isolated.
“With some segments of our community reeling due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has never been more important to understand these issues and how they affect the success of our community,” Welch said.
Full episodes of “The Number” will be available on Spotify, iTunes and anywhere you like to listen to podcasts. Episodes will be released on Tuesdays, beginning July 21. Additionally, full episodes, transcriptions and other resources will be found at panhandlePBS.org/thenumber.
Local support for this podcast is provided by the Tecovas Foundation. For more information on “The Number,” please contact Panhandle PBS at (806)371-5479.
