When it’s time to get to work, after a morning teleconference and a cup (or two) of coffee, Cardiff Garcia combs his hair, heads into the closet of his Upper West Side apartment and hangs a blanket over his head. Waiting for his FaceTime call is Stacey Vanek Smith, who answers from a makeshift fort — her own blanket, stretched over two side chairs — that she rebuilds each day in her Brooklyn living room.

For Smith and Garcia, hosts of the daily economics podcast “The Indicator” from NPR, these improvised, at-home recording booths are just one consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. As statewide isolation orders have forced millions of Americans to reimagine their work, daily podcasters like Smith and Garcia have pivoted without missing a beat, broadcasting from closets and basements — or any other insulated place that can fit a dynamic microphone — to provide a nation of sequestered listeners with reliable news updates, a sense of community and a comforting voice.

“We want to be as much of a public service as we can,” Smith said.