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Sharrelle Barber: Data Reveals Alarming Racial Disparity in COVID-19 Deaths Across the U.S.; Dr. Steffie Woolhandler: Coronavirus-Triggered Unemployment Leads to Massive Loss of Health Insurance Coverage; Lori Martin: Amidst the Coronavirus Crisis, Food Banks Struggle to Deliver Food to Hungry Americans; Bob Nixon: This Week’s Under-reported News Summary.

The $150 billion designated for state, local and tribal governments as relief from the Covid-19 crisis is nowhere near what those governments will need—and not just that, but forcing them to cut budgets just as they need to be spending more is going to drive a cycle that only hurts more those already hurting.

We speak with Dr. Donald Moore, a full-time general medicine practitioner, distinguished for his service to his community and to his profession. There is a proverbial elephant in the room regarding the potential devastating impact COVID-19 presents for African-Americans says Dr. Moore. There’s an old saying in some African-American communities that is often applied to the broad-stroke disparity of the nation’s economy: when white folks catch a cold, Black folks get pneumonia. Loosely translated, this clichéd quip means a downturn in the economy might pose hardships for some white Americans, but it’s deadly for those Black Americans who are already mired at the bottom of the economic ladder and politically marginalized.

This conversation took place on April 4, 2020. A world renowned artist, Brian Eno, and the former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, are raising questions about the social and cultural consequences of the corona pandemic. Will we be able to design the future of a new civilization or will politicians and corporations hold on to the extraordinary powers they now have taken.

The Corona Virus pandemic dominates the world’s attention and the media’s focus. So it is also in Palestine. This week we will present an inside look into the effects of the virus in Palestine, and particularly in Bethlehem where COVID-19 has hit the hardest. Palestinians face the double whammy of fighting the pandemic, while resisting the occupation that brings the military and Illegal Jewish Settlers into their space.

Dr. Tim Anderson's new book is as much about Empire as it is about Resistance. "The Axis of Resistance" details how U.S.-led imperialism uses sanctions, "humanitarian intervention" and juvenile propaganda in order to undermine the rights and protections of Global South states.

We talk about how the coronavirus crisis is impacting or failing to impact militarism and sanctions. Sarah Lazare is web editor at In These Times. A former staff writer for AlterNet and Common Dreams, Sarah co-edited the book “About Face: Military Resisters Turn Against War.” Sarah got her start in journalism reporting for the Independent Media Center movement and has organized against U.S. militarism at home and abroad.