The Scientist and the Bats
Ecologist Peggy Eby’s discovery after decades of studying bats in Australia underscores the time and shoe-leather research needed to prevent future pandemics. Read the full ProPublica investigation here.
Notice of Eviction
In New Orleans, Black women have long been hard hit by evictions. The struggle is a grim echo of life after Hurricane Katrina, when Black women and families were slower to recover and permanently fled New Orleans in droves. For those who returned, many are reliving the trauma of housing instability, this time with the added risk of a deadly virus. Story for TIME.
Front Lines
Nurse Laurie Halbrook struggles with when she should begin quarantining herself away from her family as the peak of the pandemic passes through New Orleans.
Empty City
Quiet moments and signs of life, capturing the mood of New Orleans during the lockdown.
Dreaming in a Pandemic
One of the first dream patterns to emerge at the start of the pandemic was that people, fearful of getting sick, were dreaming about bug attacks. “I’ve never seen that sort of shared dream-life,” says dream expert Deirdre Leigh Barrett, Ph.D. “It’s rare even to see it within a country: so many people dreaming about bug attacks. But this was around the world.” Dreaming is a way to engage with your emotions, and perhaps explore feelings you would generally shove out of your consciousness while engaging in everyday pursuits. Dr. Barrett analyzed Andy Sarjahani's dream from March 2020, which we animated. When she asked about associations he had with cardboard cutouts, he said they made him think of Home Alone and a scene where Macaulay Culkin uses a Michael Jordan cardboard cutout on toy train tracks to deter robbers. Dr. Barrett said while the film was a comedy, it actually taps into deep emotions. “The idea of a child being by himself, imperiled – this is kind of primal,” she said. “I think it's how some of us are feeling about the lockdown,” she said. “Not just literally people who are alone, but even if you are with one or two or three other people – you are so isolated from most of the world.”
You are not alone
Twenty-five years ago, 14-year-old Jennifer Halter arrived at the gates of New Bethany Home for Girls excited about a new start at a boarding school. What happened there, she says, nearly killed her will to live. Now, Halter is on a painful journey back to Arcadia, La., to fulfill her dying wish: to report the man she says sexually abused her.
RNC: Inside and Out
A video diptych showing inside and out of the final night of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Testing Grounds
The latest industry being outsourced to India is clinical drug trials. Drugs are expensive, life is cheap.
Leaving behind the Little Man
Thomas Blakey was haunted for most of his life by memories from D-Day. At 23-years-old, he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy around 1am on the morning of June 6, 1944. He never told a soul of his torment for fear of being seen as a coward. It made him angry and antagonistic. One day he woke to realize there had been a big change.
Caught in the Crossfire
Afghanistan's rapidly expanding media sector is a rare post-Taliban success story. But the journalists who make it happen must risk their own safety in the process.
Brenna's Anchor
Brenna Gourgeot's path to success wasn't an easy one. Education has been her anchor through the deaths of her mother and sister.
Exodus House
A beleaguered leader seeks a better place for the homeless and mentally ill through the Exodus House.