Buckle up, folks, ’cause we’re covering a lot of big news this week on Podward State.

First, hosts Matt Ogden, Matt Paolizzi, and Sam Brungo chat with Onward State associate editor Will Pegler about the Big Ten’s reinstated football season, including the conference’s health protocols. We also discuss the overall safety of football commencing in State College, which was recently named one of the fastest-growing coronavirus hotspots in the country.

Later, we talk to two Onward State staffers, Teagan Staudenmeier and Grace Cunningham, who experienced Penn State’s on-campus and off-campus quarantine protocols, respectively.

Staudenmeier spent five days in Penn State’s on-campus quarantine dorms at Eastview Terrace before receiving her negative coronavirus test. While isolated, she experienced less than ideal room conditions and a lack of communication from Penn State officials.

Cunningham, meanwhile, quarantined in her off-campus apartment and dealt with a concerning lack of communication, especially the lack of efficient contact tracing protocols.

Podward State releases episodes weekly and features discussions about all things Penn State, including sports, news, student life, and entertainment.

You can listen to the new episode on Spotify or watch it on YouTube below. Feel free to check out our time-stamped list of discussion topics if you’d like to jump right into a segment of your choosing.

0:00-0:33: Intro (ft. hosts Matt Ogden, Matt Paolizzi, and Samuel Brungo)

0:33-16:21: Big Ten Football is BACK! (ft. associate editor Will Pegler)

16:53-21:03: The Penn State Quarantine Experience: Off-Campus (ft. social media editor Grace Cunningham)

21:03–27:24: The Penn State Quarantine Experience: On-Campus (ft. visual staffer Teagan Staudenmeier)

27:24–42:58: What Penn State needs to improve in their quarantine protocols (ft. Grace Cunningham and Teagan Staudenmeier)