#579 It's a Pandemic, Why Are We So Bored?!

It's the holidays and it's 2020. For many of us, it's the first time we won't be able to be together, doing the traditional things we always do. It seems like it might be okay, I mean, people are always telling us to make our own traditions. So why does it hurt so much? Why does the loss of our rituals leave us so adrift? And why, with all the pressure of the pandemic and joblessness and politics are any of us bored? Bethany Brookshire speaks with Science News social sciences writer Sujata Gupta about the importance of rituals, and with Gimlet's "How to Save A Planet" senior reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis about the ups and downs of boredom.

Related links:

• Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic? on Science News by Sujata Gupta
• Boredom Is Spreading the Coronavirus on Elemental by Kendra Pierre-Louis
• This Pandemic Is Perilously Boring on Wired by Michael Waters