Greetings from the coronavirus zone, aka planet earth. It’s NICOLE SANDLER back today to guest host the BradCast.

We’re in the middle of a universally shared experience unlike anything in our lifetimes. People all over the world are dealing with the same crisis– this new, very contagious and quite deadly disease for which there is no vaccine, no cure, and no prescribed treatment. All over the world, we’re practicing social distancing and trying to stay safe.

Worldwide, we’re coping in various ways; many are harnessing their creativity and the power of music and the internet and creating some fun and very funny music parody videos. Today, with the belief (which apparently even AP agrees with) that laughter is the best medicine, we’ll share some that I’ve discovered over the past week or so with you. As an added bonus, I’ll post the videos of the songs featured on the show today at the bottom of this article.

Now for the serious stuff. Last weekend marked the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. I was on the air at Air America while that legislation was being written, rewritten, and debated ad nauseum. It was during that time that we first met WENDELL POTTER, still the only former health insurance industry executive with the integrity to come forward to admit what he had done and try to fix the very flawed system.

Today, Wendell Potter is president of both Medicare for All Now and Business For Medicare For All, and he joins me to talk about the lack of progress in the past 10 years, and how the coronavirus crisis proves how necessary Medicare for All is for our survival, telling me: “People are going to avoid getting the care they need because they just simply don’t have the money to pay for treatment even if they have insurance because of the high deductibles that most of us are in now. And it’s important to note that we’re alone in the developed world in having a system like this. … Yes, other countries are dealing with this crisis too, but we have this particular problem of having almost 30 million people in this country who don’t have insurance, another 60 million who are underinsured, who don’t have enough money in the bank to cover the out-of-pocket expenses even with insurance to get the care that they need.”

Here’s the link to audio of today’s show! The video versions of the parody songs we played today are embedded below it…

Download MP3 or listen online below…

The BradCast

with Brad Friedman

3/27/2020

Free Medicine in the Corona Zone: ‘BradCast’ 3/27/2020  |  Guest host Nicole Sandler with insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter; Also: Some much needed laughs!...   · · · · ·   Free Medicine in the Corona Zone: ‘BradCast’ 3/27/2020  |  Guest host Nicole Sandler with insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter; Also: Some much needed laughs!...

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The video versions of the parody songs I shared on today’s BradCast are embedded below, since laughter — especially now! — really is the best medicine…

First up… Bill Mumy. Yes, Bill Mumy of Lost in Space and Twilight Zone fame. He’s a pretty great musician. I can’t figure out how to embed this video, but you can play it by clicking here.

Next up is a clever group who I found a few weeks back when they did a very political parody of “American Pie” with animation showing the Founding Fathers doing the singing. They’re now known as Founders Sing on YouTube, and on this one, the singers are the Beatles…

I found this next artist because he’s quite prolific! He goes by the name The Kiffness, and he’s in South Africa, and he’s quite talented. Here he’s parodying a Neil Diamond tune.

And finally, the master Randy Rainbow is once again quite prolific as he, too, is stuck at home, social distancing…