In October 2022, hundreds of attendees from throughout the country came together at the Washington Duke Inn to hear speakers from Duke University faculty and other scholars, practitioners, philanthropists, and journalists. The Pandemic Divide Conference included topics on the impact of COVID-19 on wealth, entrepreneurship, health, housing, employment and education, with an emphasis on determination of steps that could have been taken to mitigate the full impact of a pandemic and offer concrete public policy solutions that would allow the nation to effectively respond to future crises.

We know we can’t prevent future pandemics, but we can certainly learn from what happened the past few years.

Today we’re going to give you a taste of the conference, as our production team at Earfluence interviewed several of the attendees, asking them why they attended the conference, what impact the pandemic has had on them, their work, and their communities, and what “aha” moments they had.

Voices in Equity is the official podcast of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. The Cook Center is named after Samuel DuBois Cook, the first tenured Black professor at Duke University who exemplified the pursuit of social justice and equality. With research focuses including social mobility, education, health, wealth, and policy, the Cook Center aims to develop a deep understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality, and develop remedies for these disparities and their adverse effects. The aim of this podcast is to expand upon the work of the Cook Center through continuing crucial conversations that further our research and programming.

On our first podcast series, we’re focusing on The Pandemic Divide: How COVID Increased Inequality in America. It’s a collaborative book from faculty - many here at Duke - who are committed to shining a light on inequities and truly making a difference.

Voices in Equity is hosted by Maddie Braksick and is produced by Earfluence.