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Hello! A lot of you have started following me in the last couple of months, so let me introduce you to some people I respect, who've created some of the pandemic writing that's really stuck with me.
I keep thinking about this haunting first-person account from @DrHelenOuyang of how the pandemic swept through NY hospitals, juxtaposed against similar experiences in Lombardy. It's an *incredible* feat of writing. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/magazine/coronavirus-er-doctor-diary-new-york-city.html
There are few people I would've trusted to do a big piece on coronavirus and climate change. @meehancrist is on the top of a short list, and she utterly delivers here. Thoughtful, sweeping, forward-looking. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-climate-change.html
Are any reporters on the infectious disease beat more respected than @helenbranswell? I doubt it. Her interview with CDC director Robert Redfield still lingers in the mind, but just read anything she writes. https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/04/an-interview-with-the-cdc-director-on-coronavirus-masks-and-an-agency-gone-quiet/
. @maggiekb1 is the god of the "this ostensibly simple thing is way more complicated than you think, but let me walk you through it" explainer. Here she is on why it's so hard to build a good COVID-19 model. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-its-so-freaking-hard-to-make-a-good-covid-19-model/
. @sarahzhang is one of the most formidable science writers working today. This story on the various options for creating an anti-covid drug is great, and just read all her stories on treatments and antibody testing. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/what-coronavirus-drug-will-look-like/609661/
. @lizneeley's piece on how to talk about the coronavirus draws on her very deep knowledge of the science of science communication. It's a north star for all the difficult conversations ahead. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-talk-about-coronavirus/609118/
. @zeynep is a formidable thinker and has written so many pieces that have shaped how I've thought about the pandemic. This one on what models mean is great; so are all the rest. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-models-arent-supposed-be-right/609271/
. @amandamull is so so good at unpacking the weird details of modern society, and zooming up and down from broad systems to everyday life. This piece on Georgia is awesome, but just always read her. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/why-georgia-reopening-coronavirus-pandemic/610882/
I could say the same of @olgakhazan, who's a reporting *machine*. So. Much. Good. Work. This grocery store piece has stuck with me. (Also check out her new book: https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/olga-khazan/weird/9781549115127/) https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/can-you-get-coronavirus-grocery-store/608659/
This @stephaniemlee piece on the Santa Clara serology study is a textbook example of responsibly reporting on complicated and controversial new research. Stephanie is always great, as is the entire Buzzfeed science desk. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/coronavirus-antibody-test-santa-clara-los-angeles-stanford
. @amyyqin's early dispatches from Wuhan were my real "oh shit!" moments during the first months of the pandemic. Her work continues to illuminate. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/02/world/asia/china-coronavirus-wuhan.html
. @rkhamsi has done some great work throughout the pandemic, inc. an early and very prescient piece on false comparisons to the flu. The one below was, I think, the first major piece to tackle the "airborne" question and holds up 2 months later. https://www.wired.com/story/they-say-coronavirus-isnt-airborne-but-its-definitely-borne-by-air/
Here's two great explainers on antibody testing--one by @apoorva_nyc and one by @CarolineYLChen. Both of them are consistently superb; read everything and anything they write.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/26/health/can-antibody-tests-help-end-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html https://www.propublica.org/article/what-antibody-studies-can-tell-you-and-more-importantly-what-they-cant
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/26/health/can-antibody-tests-help-end-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html https://www.propublica.org/article/what-antibody-studies-can-tell-you-and-more-importantly-what-they-cant
You might not think a space reporter would easily pivot to pandemic coverage but I will tell you a truth I’ve learned over the last years: @marinakoren can (and often will!) report on *anything* and it’ll be great. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-earth-pollution-noise/609316/
And to add her to the main thread: someone asked me if I knew good economics writers who are covering the pandemic and, yes, I do! @AnnieLowrey is consistently excellent. I learn a ton from her work. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/we-need-start-tossing-money-out-helicopters/608968/
. @maddie_sofia is the force of nature behind Short Wave, NPR’s wonderful daily science podcast. Loads of great pandemic coverage, interleaved with much-needed lighter palate-cleansers. Shout-out also to @emilykwong1234 & the whole Short Wave team. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510351/short-wave
Speaking of podcasts, you must listen to @roseveleth's Flash Forward. There's a pandemic episode, and I linked to the Y2K one in my recent piece. Her call to imagine better futures, and her commitment to inclusivity, are more important than ever. https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2018/07/03/the-big-death/
The pandemic has also wrecked the publicity campaigns of many great books that should find their audiences, but might not. I've mentioned Olga Khazan's WEIRD further up: ( https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316418485)
Let me recommend some others. (These aren't pandemic-related but they ARE great.)
Let me recommend some others. (These aren't pandemic-related but they ARE great.)
The Alchemy of Us by @ainissaramirez--a "look at materials, the innovations they made possible, and how these technologies changed us." It laudably centers women, people of color, and & other overlooked inventors. https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780262043809?aff=NPR
The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, by @wolflarsenmusic. An astonishing memoir of Sarah's long battle with a mysterious illness that doctors thought was all in her head. Important, heartbreaking, wise, witty. https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385534079
Fathoms: The World in the Whale, by @rebeccagiggs. For those of you who know me best from my nature writing, let me tell you this: among nature-writers working today, Rebecca is peerless. Her work is just achingly beautiful. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fathoms/Rebecca-Giggs/9781982120696
Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food, by @GinaRaeLC (out end of this month). It's the food book I've always wanted to read. A witty, illuminating, and beautifully written travelogue. https://ginaraelc.com/feastingwild
The Biggest Bluff, by @mkonnikova about life, poker, the brain, and how Maria went from writing a book about professional poker to actually becoming a professional poker player. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562852/the-biggest-bluff-by-maria-konnikova/
