Television networks and streaming services continue to respond to the coronavirus crisis with special programming aimed at breaking down the most recent developments and key issues for viewers.
Here’s the latest:
Airing on Sunday is “Bats: The Mystery Behind COVID-19” (7 p.m. PT; 10 p.m. ET June 14, CNN).
Hosted by Anderson Cooper, it’s an hourlong special that examines the possible connection between bats and many deadly human viruses, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The program takes a close look at the mysterious mammals and how human infringement on their territory may have contributed to the transmission of diseases to humans. Many scientists currently believe that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 originated in a community of Horseshoe bats in southeastern China and that bats may hold the key to finding a treatment for COVID-19.
With the help of virus hunters and experts, the special explores how bats eat, live and evolve. Included: Interviews with bat-borne-disease experts including Eco Health Alliance president, Peter Deszak, PHD; Scientific America Editor-in-Chief Laura Helmuth; American Museum of Natural History Mammalogy Curator and co-author of “Bats: A World of Science and Mystery,” Nancy Simmons; Evolutionary biologist, Dan Riskin, PHD, and New Jersey’s “Batman” Joseph D’Angeli. The special will also include interviews with Dr. Shi Zheng-Li, known in China at “Bat Woman.”
David Culver, CNN’s correspondent based in China, gives his personal account of the early days of the outbreak and a description of Wuhan’s wet markets, which some experts believe catalyzed the cross-species transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“Bats: The Mystery Behind Covid-19” will also stream live for subscribers on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android. It can also be viewed on CNNgo (at CNN.com/go on your desktop, smartphone, and iPad, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, SamsungSmart TV, Chromecast and Android TV).
— Debuting on Saturday is “The Playbook” (8 p.m. June 13, NBC).
Anchored by Lester Holt, it’s a “Dateline NBC” special that examines whether the coronavirus pandemic that tore through the United States could have been contained or slowed had government agencies responded differently.
Holt speaks with Dr. Beth Cameron, former head of the National Security Council’s pandemic response and preparedness team, along with Jeremy Konyndyk, an expert in international disasters who helped coordinate the Obama administration’s response to Ebola. They are two of the authors of the 2016 “Pandemic Playbook,” a step-by-step guide for White House officials to help them make decisions quickly in a crisis.
During the hourlong broadcast, Holt also sits down with HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who responds to criticism that the Trump administration could have done more to fight the pandemic and that it largely ignored steps outlined in the playbook, a notion Azar denies.
The special also features NBC News’ investigative reporting on the government’s response to the pandemic, as well as interviews with key experts including, Dr. Luciana Borio, an infectious disease expert and former member of the Trump administration’s National Security Council, and Eric Ries, an entrepreneur who worked to help connect PPE makers with those who needed it the most.
— Also airing on Saturday is “The ABCs of COVID-19” (7 a.m. PT; 10 a.m. ET, CNN).
The hourlong town-hall special is the third collaboration between CNN and “Sesame Street” in an effort to help children and parents understand the latest additional issues surrounding Coronavirus, including staying safe in the summer months, going back to school and how to manage “big feelings.”
The program will be hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill, along with Big Bird, with special appearances from Elmo and Abby Cadabby.
