(4000 words, ~12 minutes to read) It’s easy to get stuck in the day-to-day mire of COVID-19 statistics, analyses, and hot-takes. But what I really want to know is: What might a post-COVID world look like? And what are some ways to get there? In this highly-speculative spirit, here are some ideas (none are original, I’m just compiling ideas I’ve heard from various sources). 1. A Vaccine This is the solution I hear about the most, by far. COVID is a virus, as is the flu or meas

First, my own anecdotal point of view: Sometime last year I recall seeing a group on my campus handing out flyers for some (new?) video conferencing app called Zoom. I’d never heard of it! I looked at the brochure, decided that the features sure sounded a lot like what I was already getting for free from Skype, and threw it away. That week I had several work and personal video calls, all of which I did on Skype. Skype was the verb of choice: “Want to Skype this weekend?” “Hey

(1700 words, ~6 minutes to read) You’ve been sent to prison, but you haven’t committed a crime. You’re stuck in your cell, day after day, briefly let out for food and medicine. Of course, this means your plans are cancelled for a while; you already haven’t seen your friends in weeks. It’s not your fault! It isn’t fair! You didn’t do anything wrong! Even so, here you are, isolated from everyone. You plan your escape, only to realize there’s nowhere to go; everyone else is in p