The New Normal

Is There a Safe Way to Be Home for the Holidays?

Throughout the pandemic, Americans have been tempted to violate public-health experts’ recommendations. The winter holidays might be the strongest temptation yet.

• Joe Pinsker
• October 13, 2020

I Took the Risk of Dating During the Pandemic. It Paid Off.

If I were a perfect social-distancer, I would have stayed home. But I wouldn’t have Sam.

• Ginny Hogan
• September 30, 2020

There Won’t Be a Clear End to the Pandemic

The collective sense of closure we’re all longing for may never arrive. Instead, brace for a slow fade into a new normal.

• Joe Pinsker
• September 16, 2020

There’s a Reason Parents Miss Back-to-School Shopping

Missing out on fall traditions—even the stressful ones—can make uncertain times harder to bear for kids and grown-ups alike.

• Jenny Anderson
• August 28, 2020

How the Pandemic Has Changed Us Already

The Great Depression permanently altered many people’s behavior. Could COVID-19 do the same?

• Joe Pinsker
• August 15, 2020

Dear Diary: This Is My Life in Quarantine

Sensing that they’re living through a historic moment, many people are journaling to create a keepsake of life during the pandemic.

• Morgan Ome
• August 6, 2020

One Legacy of the Pandemic May Be Less Judgment of the Child-Free

The coronavirus could change lingering cultural assumptions about what makes for a full and happy life.

• Samhita Mukhopadhyay
• August 5, 2020

The Pandemic Is Putting Marriage Even Further Out of Reach

Married life is already the purview of the privileged. The economic crisis will only make things worse.

• Emily Bobrow
• July 27, 2020

There Is So Much More Than the Nuclear Family, Even Now

The narrative of family as the most legitimate form of care during the pandemic can make it hard to see all the creative ways people are showing up for one another.

• Mandy Len Catron
• July 18, 2020

This Isn’t Sustainable for Working Parents

The pandemic has already taken a toll on the careers of those with young children—particularly mothers.

• Joe Pinsker
• July 9, 2020

The New Boomerang Kids Could Change American Views of Living at Home

Moving in with your parents is often seen as a mark of irresponsibility. The pandemic might show the country that it shouldn’t be.

• Joe Pinsker
• July 3, 2020

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should

As states and cities waffle on pandemic restrictions, public health has become individuals’ responsibility.

• Julie Beck
• June 30, 2020

We’re Living in the Retro-Future

In some ways, the pandemic put time on fast-forward. In others, it transported us back—way back—into the past.

• Ashley Fetters
• June 25, 2020

I Went to a Drive-In Theater to Feel Normal. The Opposite Happened.

If catching a movie at these establishments once offered a sojourn into the past, going to one amid the pandemic provides a glimpse of the future.

• Shirley Li
• June 5, 2020

The New Relationships That Fizzled Out in Quarantine

The pandemic made every non-cohabiting couple a long-distance one—and effectively stopped a whole legion of blossoming romances in their tracks.

• Ashley Fetters
• May 31, 2020

Refusing to Wear a Mask Is an Empty Act of Defiance

Those who reject facial coverings during the pandemic do so amid broad consensus about what public safety demands.

• Megan Garber
• May 27, 2020

25 Half-Hour Shows to Watch Now

If your attention span is frazzled, explore the compact joys of the 30-minute format.

• Sophie Gilbert
• May 24, 2020

The Advice That Most 2020 Commencement Speakers Won’t Give

Here’s the speech that graduates need to hear.

• James Parker
• May 24, 2020

What The Great Reveals About Trump’s Pandemic Denial

Hulu’s new satire may be set in 18th-century Russia, but it understands the theatrical and nearsighted politics of the current moment.

• Shirley Li
• May 21, 2020

Athletes During the Pandemic Are Learning What Fans Have Always Known

As players return to empty arenas, they are discovering a basic truth: Live sports is an act of social imagination.

• Danny Chau
• May 20, 2020