When did the horrors that once seemed unthinkable become commonplace?

We're in the throes of a global pandemic. People protesting a police officer who kept his knee on a black man's neck for over eight minutes, two minutes beyond when he lost consciousness, were tear gassed to make room for a photo op for President Trump.

But relax. Nothing is wrong, or at least that's what we're told by a president who thinks this is a wonderful time to be alive. There is no climate change (even though we'll soon see water where there once was land). The pandemic will go away any minute now. There'll be a wonderful vaccine soon (different from all the others I pan). In the meantime, we can take a very (un)safe drug that works miracles if we get infected. The underlying economy is great (except for the 40 million currently unemployed), and I'm the most stable of geniuses.

GUEST:

• Alexandra Petri - Columnist for The Washington Post; her new book is Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why: Essays (@petridishes)

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.