WEBVTT - Bonus episode! A preview of ‘House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy’ 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.199 Hi everyone, I'm Katie Kuric and this is Next Question. 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.640 While the podcast takes a hiatus to prepare for our 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:11.240 next big season, I wanted to share something special, a 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:15.760 preview episode of a new upcoming podcast hosted by none 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:21.440 other than the nation's doctor, Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murphy. 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.680 I first have the opportunity to speak to Dr Murphy 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:28.440 in April of as he was launching his book Together, 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:33.760 The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.040 Who knew it would resonate so much as the world 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:42.880 locked down and social distancing measures were implemented. I talked 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:46.960 with him about loneliness as a public health issue, including 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:51.240 his own story about the mental and emotional impact isolation 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.360 can have. Today, Dr Murphy is giving our Next Question 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:59.160 listeners a preview of his new podcast called House Calls 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:04.480 with Dr of Ache Murphy. So enjoy. Thank you so much, Katie. 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:06.920 I'm so excited to be here with all of you 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.759 taking over Next Question. My name is Vivek Morty. I'm 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:12.800 a doctor and serve as a current Surgeon General of 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.520 the United States. Katie and her team have been kind 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:17.840 enough to allow me to share the conversation I had 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.800 with Padma Lakshmi on how we are looking at building 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.360 more connection in two Padma and I met in two 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.440 thousand seventeen when I first served as US Surgeon General 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:30.679 during the Obama administration, I had the privilege of accompanying 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:34.160 her to film an episode of her hit Bravo cooking 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.280 show Top Chef. She since added producer and host of 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:41.160 Taste the Nation to her resume, and she has authored 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.680 multiple cookbooks, a memoir, and a children's book, which is, 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.640 by the way, something I dream of doing myself. Padma, 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.800 I'll trying to get my wife on board with the 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.040 idea of co authoring a children's books, so we'll see. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.040 So I'm so glad Padma, that we're having this conversation today. 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.480 Thank you for joining me, Thank you for having me. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:04.320 I'm so glad you are our surgeon general again. Well, 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:06.880 that's very kind of you. I certainly feel honored to 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.360 serve at a time like this, especially with the pandemic 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.920 that we're going through. And speaking of the pandemic, I 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.040 just wanted to ask you how you were doing. It's 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.160 been almost two years that we have been in this pandemic. 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:22.680 How have you been throughout this last almost twenty four months. Well, 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:26.120 the headline, the biggest headline, is that I'm very grateful. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.960 You know, I did have a couple of distant aunts 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:32.919 who got ill and passed away, who weren't old enough 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:36.200 in my opinion, to pass away. But for the most part, 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.760 other than that, most of the people around me were healthy. 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:45.080 I made healthy my own immediate family. We are all good. 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:49.440 Nobody got sick, we were vaccinated in a timely fashion. 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.799 I was just boostered a few weeks ago. UM. My 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.959 daughter is now of age and she's also been double backs. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:03:01.000 So in large strokes, no complaints, just a lot of gratitude. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.720 But even if you didn't suffer job loss or the 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.239 loss of the loved one, I think we've all gone 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:13.960 through something quite profound UM, something together with the rest 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:17.880 of the planet and specifically of course our country UM 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:22.240 that has manifested in different ways for different people, and 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:27.600 for me, I think it's UM. I caused just a 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:33.919 lot of emotional fatigue and mental fatigue. I think I'm 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.360 doing better now than I was a year ago. But 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:42.760 I do think that I don't have the stamina or patients, 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:47.000 the mental stamina or patients to deal with all of 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:51.320 the extracurricular activities that I'm blessed enough to be invited 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:56.240 to or asked to participate in by virtue of uh, 0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.000 just my work or you know, being in the public 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.360 guy for so long. And I don't mind that, actually, 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.840 but I do think that, you know, while a lot 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:11.080 of us were still UM in a sort of stasis 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.800 for lack of a better word, for many many months, 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.320 it was certainly not RESTful. It was filled with anxiety. 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.760 And I think collectively we still have to deal with 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:24.760 that mental duress and that anxiety and all of the 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.880 attendant and additional things that many of us have faced, 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:33.400 like you know, a career change, office at home, loss 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.880 of a loved one, homeschooling. How do we get our 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:41.360 kids back on track? Um, you know, it's been two 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.839 years and so that is a very long time in 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.960 the development of a child. And so not only how 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.760 do we get them back to their quote uncort normal cells, 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:53.279 but how do we make up for lost time or 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.520 how do we address some of the issues that have 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.000 come up because of COVID for them? Because I do 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:02.719 think um our children have suffered in a way that 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:06.640 is very different from from us, you know, as adults 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.040 you can sort of parse out. Okay, this is one 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:11.400 year of my life, two years of my life. But 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.160 when you're nine or ten years old, my daughter is 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.159 almost twelve, you know, eighteen months is a heck of 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.480 a long time in the first fife and and and 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:24.960 it becomes hard to put it in perspective. It's made 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:29.320 me in tall and COVID has made me intolerant of 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:32.320 a lot of things, like I don't hit chat, a 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:36.799 cocktail partist, not good at those that you are, Um, 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.920 just getting dressed up and and and being more social. 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.479 I mean, I I do consider myself a very social person, 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:48.000 but my circle has gotten smaller. Um the you know, 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.120 all of those, all of the things that I do 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.640 have gotten very focused. I think that's good. I think 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:56.200 there's some good that can come of that. Okay, that's 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:59.640 such an interesting point you mentioned. But about I mean, 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.239 it's ways. It sounds like you're talking about a reevaluation 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:06.640 of your social life and your social engagement that's taken place, 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:10.479 some of it perhaps unconscious, some of it intentional, but 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:14.080 all precipitated in a sense by this pandemic. A number 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.480 of people, either consciously or even just you know, unintentionally 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.200 are finding themselves going through a reckoning with their relationships, 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:23.720 with their connection with one another, whether it's with family 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:27.520 or with friends. And it's a really interesting time, you know, 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:31.760 I'm I'm thinking about the book Tomatoes for Nila, that 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:36.040 you wrote, children's book about connecting with family through food 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.120 and cooking, and so much of your work, whether it's 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:41.559 the book or whether it's you know, Taste the Nation, 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.880 have been about finding ways for people to connect through food. 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:49.520 And I'm curious as you reflect on those experiences, particularly 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:51.960 Taste the Nation and just the beautiful stories that you've 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.400 been weaving together of different food traditions and how they 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:59.279 bring us together. What have you learned about how we 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:02.400 connect and if we want to rebuild connection sort of 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.320 in our life going forward. Connections are truly matter, high 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:07.880 quality connections in our life. Like what lessons do you 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:11.400 think COVID has to teach us? It's interesting, you know, 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:13.720 You're right. I just got through saying that I have 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.480 whittled down my relationships and and you know, focused on 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.320 the ones that really matter. And you know, I am 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.360 very lucky and that the first season of Tasting Nation 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.520 was very well received both by critics and just by 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:33.040 the TV viewing public, and because the show really relies 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:37.200 on intimacy and connection. That's the basis. You know, there's 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.560 no vals and whistles to it. They're not you know, 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.640 sweeping cinematic shots. We don't, you know, it's it's really 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:47.240 relies on that. You know. We couldn't film season two 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.640 as soon as I'd like it, to know, as soon 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.360 as I'd like it to have done it. And but 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:55.720 I was anxious to get back to work because I 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.280 didn't want the trail to go cold, and so we're 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:01.360 only able to do four episode safely due to COVID 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:08.280 and I as much as I was reluctant to rekindle 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:12.160 relationships that I didn't think we're essential, I was so 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:16.240 intent on getting back to work. Um. So I think 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:21.960 that we do want connections, we just want meaningful connections. 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:25.880 I think that is the difference. I think we're realizing 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:31.080 that our time, our tension, our efforts are very precious, right, 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:33.720 That's what we've all learned, and so we want to 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:37.120 spend them wisely on things and people who really matter 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:40.040 to us. And you know, other than my child, there's 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.400 nothing that matters to me more than Taste the Nation. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.079 It took me a long time to get it off 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.120 the ground. And I will tell you the reason I 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.120 think that Taste the Nation has resonated not only with 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:54.600 our viewers but with me so personally, is because I 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.679 have been able through that show to make really deep connections. 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.080 I stay in touch with most of the participants of 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.920 our show. I check in with them just to see 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.440 how they are doing. I usually go and in bed 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:11.319 myself in a community for about a week, um, and 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.040 you know, meet different people from that community, and I 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:19.640 will say that I think we're longing to understand each 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:25.600 other better and to really have deeper, meaningful connections. And 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:29.760 I do think that our country in the last five 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:34.280 years has become so outrageously polarized in a way and 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:36.839 that none of us thought possible in such a short 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:40.080 span of time. And so I think, for for me, 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.280 it's important to understand your fellow American or your fellow 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:50.240 human being, even internationally. And it's important too to make 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.600 sure that when you when you are making these connections, 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:57.160 that you're really being affected by that person, that you're 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:02.440 being changed in some way. UM. And I think people 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:04.920 want that, you know. I think that's why the show 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.920 had residents with viewers. But I also think, if we're 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.120 going to go out into the big world and you know, 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:15.400 leave our kids at home with a babysitter, or you know, 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.800 make an effort and take a risk, you know, by 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.680 getting on a subway or even going to a gathering, 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.880 we wanted to be a substantive conversation. We wanted to 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:29.680 be something that is just deeper than getting together and 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:34.120 making that small talk. Gosh, there's so much you said 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.600 there which was very powerful that I'm particularly picking up 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:41.240 on this threat around polarization that you mentioned, Padma, and 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.439 I think that you're not alone in feeling the weight 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:48.400 of that polarization right now. I've had so many conversations 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.400 with people across the country in the last not just 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.240 in the last year, but even when I was search 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.240 in general during the Obama administration, where people felt that 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.360 there was just so much polarization in our country, and 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.760 and that makes everything difficult, right, It makes it hard 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.000 for us to come together and take on big challenges, 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.680 whether that's climate change, whether it's racial inequality, whether it's 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.560 something like a pandemic um But the question is, how 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.320 how do we build those bonds of connection, and it's 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.160 it strikes me either a word do you use or 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:20.120 a phrase which is knowing each other? Right to connect 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.160 with one another? We need to come to know each 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:24.960 other and how do we create those experiences? Because I 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.679 think that would make it far less polarized the environment 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:29.640 that we're living in and give us the kind of 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.240 unity that we need to take on big challenges and 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.120 to add joy to our day to day life. What 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:38.680 I think would be great is for every citizen to 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:42.720 be required to do a month or six months work 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:48.760 um stint in community service. I really think that, Like 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.800 you know, a lot of countries have mandatory military service, 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.360 um I think we should do that. I think everybody, 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.800 regardless of whether you are you know, somebody at the 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:04.280 top of our economic echelonce or somebody who's just at 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.120 the bottom or starting out or in between, should have 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.920 to do some kind of municipal volunteer work for a 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:14.960 period of time. I think that it gives you, um 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.240 more of an understanding of what it's like. You know, 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.080 I have a lot of my friends who are obviously chefs. 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:24.280 They they say everybody should work in the restaurant, in business. Everybody, 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:27.599 you know, Danny Meyer says, I think everybody should be uh, 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.520 you know, have a job as a waite staff member 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:35.040 for just because it does teach you humility, and um, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:39.000 I think humility is really important. I think, you know, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:42.480 anybody who's interesting in going to med school should have 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:46.120 to volunteer in your office for X amount of time 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.520 just to shadow people that are working in your department 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.720 to learn what that means, you know. I think even 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:54.920 if you want to be an actor, I think you 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.560 should have to sweep the stage floor for a month 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:00.320 and see what that feels like, so that you know, 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.560 if you do get the privilege of being an actor 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.040 on a stage or in a movie, that you have 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:09.520 respect for your crew members who are cleaning up after you. Um. 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:13.319 I think part of that also is because in America 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.960 we are such a me focused culture. You know, the 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:21.360 individual rights of a person who are very much respected, etcetera, etcetera. 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.640 So that has worked for us for a long time 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:28.680 in a capitalistic society, but we've often lost sight of 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:32.640 the we of it all in our society. And what 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:38.040 we've seen with COVID is that regardless of how much 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:42.280 you want to insulate yourself, we are still connected. Is 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:46.199 that enough that my child is vaccinated, all of her 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:50.160 classmates need to be vaccinated, and all of her peers 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:56.240 um in Brazil or China or you know, Sub Saharan 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:59.720 Africa and need to also be vaccinated because she's sharing 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:03.320 the world with that, and so we you know, that's 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.200 one thing COVID has taught us is that everybody needs 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:10.679 to be vaccinated. Everybody needs an equal opportunity to have 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:15.719 a health filled life and access to medicine and nutrition 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.760 and and um, all of these things and and and 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:24.280 you know, we cannot live in silos. And I think 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.880 doing that kind of thing, having to be in service 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:32.800 and having to experience feeling no better or no worse 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:34.720 than anybody else. You know, we all had to we 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:37.280 all had to stand in line at the d m V, right, 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.360 we all had to go through. Drivers said, I think 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:44.120 there's there's something too we all have to just like 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:46.880 we all eventually have to go to jury duty. I 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.480 think we should all have to do some kind of 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.880 community service. It can be you know, even cleaning up 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.120 the park, it can be whatever. I think that would 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:01.440 bring us closer to our connected us in some way. 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.040 You're listening to next question with Katie Couric and we're 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:09.120 sharing a preview episode of House Calls with Dr Murphy. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:21.600 We'll be back right after this. Welcome back once again. 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:25.840 Here's Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murphy speaking with food writer, 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:32.000 producer and activists Padma lash Me. I was wondering, given 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:34.600 all of your experience in the food industry, can you 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.000 tell us a little bit of just about what you're 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.040 seeing in restaurants, Like what are you seeing on the 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.560 front lines in terms of the mental health and the 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:46.600 well economic well being of workers. We're going through a 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:50.560 revolutionary change, not only in our economic system and society, 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:54.920 but specifically in the restaurant business. Labor is very hard 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:59.880 to find, and I understand, you know, you get treated 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:05.080 so badly as a waiter or waitress. It's it's really 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:09.440 crazy how demanding people are and how they just somehow, 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:14.320 very mild mannered, nice people somehow just lose their humanity 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.760 when their steak isn't done exactly right, or you know, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.840 they're they're waiting a little too long for their next drink. 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.240 And what's happening is that a lot of weight staff 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:28.640 don't want to come back to work, and so there 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:32.920 are many establishments that are short on help, and I 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.720 know that. Um, you know, I have a friend of 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:37.760 mine who owns a little bit of restaurant here in 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.840 the East Village and just heard her husband who run 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.480 it with you know, a few members of their staff, 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.920 and you know, she sent out a message on her 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:49.680 Instagram account saying, Hi, we're gonna be closed tomorrow, and 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:51.960 there's I wish I could tell you we're having a 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:54.720 special event. We just all need some rest, so we're 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:58.680 gonna say day off. I need to have my staff rest. 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.160 They deserve it. So please don't come tomorrow, but please 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:04.560 do remember us the day after and the day after 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:08.359 that and so forth. It's really hard to find help. 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.680 By the way, I've never had a restaurant, so I'm 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.080 giving you all the information that was given to meet 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:15.159 by others. Just want to say that on the record, 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:22.720 But people just don't understand how low the margins are 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:26.800 in the restaurant business, and also because of pandemic all 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.240 in the perishable foods that you buy in preparation to 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:34.520 be ready to make any of the items on the 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.800 menu that you see go back. You know, it's not 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:39.840 like there's there, you know, if it's a good restaurant. 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.000 It's not like it's canned. You know, you can preaze 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.919 meet but some of it and then you have labor costs, right, 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.640 you have fixed costs, and then um, the margins are 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.560 really really low and the rents are really really hot. 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.000 So um, you know, I know that in the last 0:17:56.000 --> 0:18:00.040 twenty years, chefs themselves have become you know, celebrities or know, 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:04.000 it's kind of rock star mythology. But the truth is that, 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:08.200 you know, it's very few restaurants that actually do well 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:11.600 and and make their chefs rich. You know, if they're 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.199 if they're doing well, it's because they've got you know, 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.520 a lot of private events that they're doing, or they're 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.840 writing books, or they're appearing on shows like mine and 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.000 things like that. It's not glamorous, you know, it's it's 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.320 really hard work. And let's face it, working in the 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:31.560 restaurant business is manual labor. Now, it's very creative, it 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.080 has to do with science and business and all this stuff, 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:36.040 but at the end of the day, you're on your 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.840 feet for eighteen hours a day and your hours are 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:44.080 terrible there where everyone else is congregating during lunch and dinner. 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.679 So it's it becomes really hard to have a personal life. 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:52.240 It becomes difficult to have a family, especially if you 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:55.359 if you're the one carrying the baby, which is why 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.520 it's such a male dominated industry. It's probably you know, 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.080 second only to the military, Harry in that aspect in 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:05.360 our culture. Um, it's it's really hard. I think also Americans, 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.720 just like they expect, you know, to have all the 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:11.080 freedoms they want and think about me, me, me, not us, 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:16.760 they also expect really large portions for really low prices, 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:20.800 and we are not paying what we should be for 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:24.760 milk and cheese because or vegetables because somebody had to 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.359 go out at four dollars an hour and without health 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:31.840 insurance and pick that fruit and box it up and 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.840 harry that heavy fruit crate on their shoulders, you know, 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.639 with a band. I mean the stuff weighs like fifty pounds, 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:44.000 and you know, it was very, very hard. I think 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:51.840 the separation between owners and laborers has just gotten too great, 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:54.680 and I think something's got to give, and that's what's 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:59.920 happening now because it just becomes not worth working. Gosh, 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.880 mean those are that's heartbreaking to hear. And I think 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:06.200 you're you're right, there's an economic cost, there's a human cost, 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:09.960 and and it's I think it's very clear that for 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:13.640 frontline workers in particular, that the toll of this pandemic 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:16.600 on their mental health has been really quite striking. I 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.280 know you've spoken about mental health before at the beginning 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:22.480 of this year, about some of your own challenges. I've 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.360 certainly done that as well. Um, But I think we're 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:28.639 both keenly aware of the fact that in our country 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:30.920 and cultures around the world, there's so tremendous amount of 0:20:30.920 --> 0:20:33.440 stigma around mental health, and it's not easy for people 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:36.399 to speak up to ask for help without feeling like 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:39.920 somehow they're broken or they're at fault. I'm curious about 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:43.359 how you see this changing this stigma around mental health. 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.520 Like I think we both want a world in which 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:48.320 our kids can talk about these issues more freely, where 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:50.240 they can get help if they need it. Um, But 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:53.520 I'm curious what you think will help change that stigma. 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:57.280 I think that the pandemic has brought a lot of 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:02.760 issues to the for that we're always there regarding mental health, 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:06.919 that it's just intensified and brought it up to the 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:11.000 service in such an acute way. And and that's because 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:13.800 we've been again under such to rest. But that's you know, 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.119 everything has a benefit if you look at it the 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:19.000 right way. Somebody, once very smart said that to me, 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:21.760 and I've never forgotten it, especially at times when I've 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.920 been deeply challenged. And I was very challenged last year. 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:29.720 I just felt really spent, and I talked about it. 0:21:30.000 --> 0:21:35.560 I felt I felt badly for my own issues, but 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:40.400 I felt even worse that my daughter went through a 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:42.840 lot because she's an only child, and you know, like 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.960 millions of children across this country, she felt isolated from 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:49.960 her peers. You know, she didn't have siblings, and we 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.679 really sheltered in place, uh, in a very remote area, 0:21:54.920 --> 0:21:57.000 you know, out in Long Island, and that was very 0:21:57.040 --> 0:22:01.520 hard for her. And so I think just talking about 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:05.239 it and making it okay and um not seeing it 0:22:05.280 --> 0:22:08.000 as a sign of weakness, you know. I think that's 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.320 the thing. If you admit to having mental health issues, 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:15.800 you're afraid that you're going to get some help penalized 0:22:15.920 --> 0:22:19.720 for it, either by your peers or by your colleagues, 0:22:19.800 --> 0:22:22.920 your family, or your you know, especially by your employer. 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:25.760 We have to talk about it with children, you know. 0:22:25.760 --> 0:22:27.800 I think we have to talk about it in health class. 0:22:28.440 --> 0:22:31.040 I think that's when you talk about it. You start 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:33.760 young and you just stigmatize it and you say it's 0:22:33.760 --> 0:22:37.720 okay to ask for help. Asking for help is actually 0:22:38.040 --> 0:22:41.800 um and a strong action, you know, it's a sign 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:46.760 of strength. I think it requires just shift in focus 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:49.160 and how we look at it, and also in supporting 0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:52.560 each other. Um. I think that we need to at 0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:58.080 a very microlocal level reach out to our our circles. 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:02.920 Are friends, are neighbor is, having those open channels. I 0:23:02.960 --> 0:23:06.720 mean when I heard somebody tell me that they started 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:09.600 every meeting and it was a corporation. It was not 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:13.240 you know, it wasn't a friend circle or anything where 0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:16.400 they said how are you feeling? You know, and and 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:19.719 these were like, uh, you know, all hands meetings, like 0:23:20.280 --> 0:23:22.479 you know, every Friday or every Monday, and that they 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:25.679 always started I'm feeling like this, how are you feeling? 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:28.159 And it was just an open forum for about the 0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:32.880 first fifteen twenty minutes for everybody to talk about just 0:23:33.040 --> 0:23:36.000 how they were feeling. I'm feeling pressured because my daughter 0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:37.679 is getting married and I don't know how I'm going 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:40.480 to do all this. I'm feeling pressured because my son 0:23:40.640 --> 0:23:42.520 is going to college, and I really want him to 0:23:42.520 --> 0:23:44.399 get into a good college, but I also want him 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:46.840 to be in a college where he's happy. You know, 0:23:46.880 --> 0:23:50.720 studies have shown that the more vulnerable you are, UM, 0:23:50.760 --> 0:23:54.359