- On GTU Hour 2 this morning – Happy Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French. With Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of fasting before Easter, Mardi Gras is the “last hurrah” of sorts, with participants indulging in their favorite fatty foods and drinks before giving them up. Countries around the world celebrate Mardi Gras as the last day of Carnival season, which starts after Christmas, on January 6th, (known as ‘Twelfth Night’).
- Plus, Ryan Reynolds is known for being an action hero on screen. But it turns out some of the biggest challenges the actor has battled are in his head. Reynolds, 45, spoke with CBS Sunday Morning about his mental health struggles, which have included crushing bouts of anxiety in the past. “I’ve had anxiety my whole life, really. I feel like I have two parts of my personality. One takes over when that happens,” he explained. Reynolds went on to share how, when appearing on a talk show, he’d be consumed by fear and anxiety so severe that he thought he would throw up on stage.
- And our children’s teachers are not OK. They’re exhausted and burning out. Many have run out of paid time off. They go to work afraid of getting sick or being the reason why others get sick. Many worry about doing the wrong thing and ending up as the target of a Facebook rant. All this, on top of being historically overworked and underpaid. It goes beyond Covid, too. Schools are ground zero for our nation’s brutal divides, and our children’s teachers have taken on pandemic teaching, along with increased censorship and criticism about how and what they teach. This can be destructive and dangerous. I’m in touch with several teachers and administrators who have received death threats. Two educator colleagues now get escorted to public meetings by armed police officers. Two years of pandemic living have pushed many parents to the brink. So how can we help our teachers? Deena has what you can do today.
- At the end of the show – In a move that’s left many scratching their heads, TikTok is introducing 10-minute videos, and this app update feels very much like that little boy in 2015 getting an avocado for Christmas. Although this TikTok update still appears to be rolling out and thus unavailable to some users, Twitter user @MattNavarra shared on Feb. 28 a screenshot of a TikTok notification signaling his ability to upload videos up to 10 minutes long “from your device.” This is a significant jump from the three-minute video ceiling TikTok introduced in July 2021, alongside the app’s 60-second and 15-second options. We dive into these Hot Topics and more this morning on GTU Hour 2.
