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Brigid Bergen: In case you haven't heard, out in Punxsutawney, Phil the Groundhog predicted six more weeks of winter, but maybe we'll get some snow. Out on Staten Island, however, the Groundhog predicted in early spring that feels more like it. Here in New York without any snow yet you might be with me wondering if winter's really even started, but the movie might be as famous as the Groundhog himself at this point. Throughout Groundhog Day, the main character, Phil, a surly weatherman who's been sent out to cover his Punxsutawney namesake, wakes up to Sonny and Cher again and again and again as he repeats February 2nd an untold number of times.

The movie, which came out 30 years ago this month, has become almost synonymous with experiencing monotony, repetition, or asking ourselves, how is this happening again? Not so long ago, there were a number of articles that touted the Groundhog Day scenario of Kevin McCarthy's bid for House Speaker. On this February 2nd, I'm asking you to call in and tell us what's the thing in your life or in the world that's been feeling like Groundhog Day to you? What are you sick of repeating in your daily routine, in the news cycle, in conversations?

Maybe on a more hopeful note, what might you be doing to break out of that repetition? Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Groundhog Day has been lauded over the years for its philosophical bent. Phil goes through periods of both hopelessness and personal growth as he experiences something of a time loop. In everyday life, something that feels like Groundhog Day might be a little less philosophical. For you it might be, I don't know, the New York state legislature reforming reformed bail law after it already reformed bail law.

It could be the endless stream of natural disasters that never seemed to stop coming. If that's resonating with you, give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. You can also tweet @BrianLehrer. Tell us about the news that feels like it never stops coming or always keeps repeating. On a more personal note, maybe your Groundhog Day is a little closer to home. Maybe you just can't seem to get your water heater fixed, or to keep it so it stays fixed. Or maybe it's the seemingly endless process of trying to potty train your toddler. I could talk about that for a long time.

Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer. During the period of the pandemic in which many of us entered lockdowns and quarantines, the movie Groundhog Day seemed to resonate with people's experiences of an unending sameness. In April 2020, there was even an Atlantic article by Megan Garber titled Groundhog Day was a horror movie all along. She wrote that the true horror of the movie was that Phil couldn't know when or if this time loop would end.

Once again, we're asking our listeners to call in, tell us what's been feeling like Groundhog Day to you, what's been feeling never-ending to you, whether it's in your life or something about the world at large. What keeps happening again and again and how are you feeling about it? We want to hear from you at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer. I can see our lines filling up.

We'll give you a few more ways to think about it. Of course, the movie Groundhog Day is ultimately a comedy. After living through February 2nd for what has been guessed at being maybe a month, ten years, maybe more than a lifetime, our character Phil finally breaks into February 3rd by learning some life lessons. Classic time loop. Do you see the end to your own Groundhog Day situation? How might you be planning to break out of the monotony or the repetition? How does the nightmare scenario end? Give us a call and maybe a little bit of hope for spring at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. You can also tweet @BrianLehrer, and we'll take your Groundhog Day calls after the break.

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Brigid Bergen: It's the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Bridget Bergen from the WNYC and Gothamist Newsroom, and we're taking your calls on what feels like Groundhog Day to you, something that happens over and over and never changes. The movie may be a comedy, but these stories may not be and we want to know what you're trying to do about it if anything. The number is 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Let's start with Shayna in Brooklyn. Shayna, welcome to WNYC.

Shayna: Thank you so much for having me.

Brigid Bergen: What is Groundhog Day to you, Shayna?

Shayna: Groundhog Day to me is fighting once again for women's rights and particularly abortion rights. I can't believe that we're in 2023 and we're still having this fight and argument. Something that I feel like could be positive is involving my daughter, which is something I never thought I'd have to do because I thought we were past this in the fight and trying to get people elected who will codify Roe v. Wade.

Brigid Bergen: Shayna, thank you so much for your call. Let's go to Arty in Queens. Arty, welcome to WNYC. We're talking Groundhog Day. What is Groundhog Day to you?

Arty: Thank you for taking my call. As I told the screener, to me, it can be mass shootings. It could be the police brutality cases like what just happened in Memphis or George Floyd. They happen. Some politicians may come along and you get the, you know what I'm saying, the usual, "My heart goes with you." We need Celine Dion to sing a song about it. My heart is for you, and we'll do this and we'll do that, and basically, we get together and we do nothing until the next-- I guess we go to sleep until the next mass shooting or the next police brutality case, but nothing. Nothing happens. It's just we are a violent country, period.

Brigid Bergen: Arty, thank you so much for your call. Let's go to Edith in Manhattan. Edith, welcome to WNYC.

Edith: Hi, Brigid. You're doing a great job filling in as usual.

Brigid Bergen: Thank you.

Edith: Well, I did owe the first two callers, and I also want to bring up the thing that was Groundhog Day for me. And it's funny because I just heard it on the radio yesterday again, and I was thinking this was Groundhog Day all over again, and then you have this call in, but it is I first came to New York City in the '80s and I got stuck. I never left. I'm 61 now, I'm still here, but back then when the crime was really bad and everything and but they were talking about getting at the roots of crime, and instead of just-- we've got this whole defund the police thing now or whatever, refund the police.

Every time they talk about these social things that we can do for kids, we can have jobs, we can do this, we can do that, and to get at the roots of why this is even happening to the more impoverished people and I hear this still today. It could it be the '80s. I'm hearing the exact same thing, and nothing ever happens. It never gets done.

Brigid Bergen: Edith, thank you so much for listening, and thanks for calling. We've started with some pretty heavy stories because these are the times we're living in, but I want to go to Amy in Manhattan. Another Groundhog Day situation. Amy, welcome to WNYC.

Amy: Thank you. First, I have to agree with Arty, and this is not nowhere near on that level, but mine is that my Internet cable service keeps going out and I have to be on the phone with Spectrum and sometimes I have my main computer and my backup, and sometimes it's just one, and sometimes it's both and just have to go through the same thing with the modem and unplug it or try this and that and the other, and it's just taking up so much of my time.

Brigid Bergen: You are stuck in a time loop for Internet connection, something I think a lot of people can connect with, particularly today, but Ellen in Manhattan, you have a different idea of what Groundhog Day is. What's your thought?

Ellen: I do. Just let me say that at my stage of life, the things that you get tired of doing every day are brushing your teeth and washing dishes and you keep saying, do I have to do these things again? Oh my God. Can't believe the dishes are dirty again. That was one point. The other point is the movie. I think the point of the movie is, and the movie would be nothing without the fact that what he's doing is every day he's given an opportunity but think about what he could do differently and what he could do better.

I think even on those days when I'm furious that I have to brush my teeth again, it's an opportunity for me and I recognize it as such for me to think about what can I do a little better in my life and who can I be a little better. I think that without that the movie would just be wonderful Bill Murray's face.

Brigid Bergin: Ellen, thank you so much for that. I think my version of your dishes and teeth brushing is folding laundry. I always wonder how I could possibly have to do that again. I want to thank all of our callers for sharing your Groundhog Day stories, the heavy and the hopeful. This is the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin filling in for Brian who's off today. Thank you so much for listening and thanks to the staff who helped me out today. We will talk to you again tomorrow.

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