The Morning: Social distance

We vowed to change after Covid. We still can.

View in browser|nytimes.com March 15, 2025 By Melissa Kirsch Good morning. On the five-year anniversary of Covid, a look at the ways we vowed our lives and relationships would change afterward — and how they still might. María Jesús Contreras Social distance Where were you in March of 2020? When did you realize Covid was a thing that was going to disrupt life as you knew it? I was hiking in Joshua Tree, spending my days delirious at the natural beauty of the desert, unsure if I should return to New York. Each time I refreshed The Times's coverage, it seemed more and more evident that going home would mean staying indoors for the foreseeable future. I came back. I began working at The Times a few months later (from my living room) and soon started writing a newsletter called At Home, wherein I tried to help people lead full, cultured lives from their living rooms. It was a project intended to help people find distraction, comfort, meaning, joy, sense, commiseration and community in the midst of what felt at times like intolerable uncertainty. Here's what to watch, read, cook, listen to, think about. You could attend this virtual disco, or this virtual poetry reading or someone's virtual birthday party, where you'll squint at screen after screen of squares of people you know and people you don't, smiling and focused, so close up and so far away. Remember virtual happy hours? Remember Zoom shirts? Remember when it was weird to see your colleagues' bedroom décor on video calls? Who would have thought Brian from analytics would choose those table lamps? I spent so much time thinking about coping in those days. We all did. In the midst of a lot of confusion and sadness, there was creativity. Pandemic pods. Sourdough mania. Alfresco dining enabled by every conceivable form of outdoor heating element. A friend of mine started a dance troupe in her town that practiced its choreography on Zoom then performed their dances on neighbors' lawns. Another built a bed in the back of her SUV and drove across the country, sleeping in her car. I reconnected with college pals I hadn't spoken to in decades; once we realized how easy it was to FaceTime, it seemed ridiculous that we hadn't been doing it all along. Five years isn't long enough to get perspective, not really. It's a roundish number so it feels meaningful: a good time for retrospectives, to ask what we learned, how we've changed, how we haven't. The things we swore we'd do differently once "the world opened up again" — are we doing them? I vowed more socializing, more dinner parties, more dancing, more trips, more visiting people just because. No more taking in-person contact with other humans for granted! I'd like to renew these vows, but the world opened up and so did the options. There was so much room for longing in lockdown, so much time to romanticize freedom of movement and to fantasize about the possible lives we'd lead in the future. But unless you put some kind of plan in place for executing these intentions, it was easy enough to just slide back into how it once was: Other humans are lovely at times and annoying a lot of the time and it takes effort to plan a dinner party. But remember when every hug involved calculation? I wrote about it in the At Home newsletter, how I hoped "this new appreciation for each fleeting moment of contact, the meaning in every casual touch" wouldn't ever go away. Despite my best intentions, it has. However sincere our lockdown-era intentions to forever relish all the things we missed, we reverted. There's probably not a lot from that period we want to resurrect, but maybe those plans, those intentions to value each other a little more intentionally, we could consider revisiting. THE LATEST NEWS Government Funding Senator Chuck Schumer, center, in the Capitol on Friday. Ben Curtis/Associated Press The Senate passed a spending bill to keep the government running, after Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, and several other Democrats allowed the measure to advance. Schumer, who made an about-face on the bill in recent days, said he was protecting Democrats from the long-term damage of shutdown. But many in his party disagreed. "I believe that's a tremendous mistake," Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. More on Politics In a speech to the Department of Justice, President Trump lashed out at the lawyers and prosecutors who had investigated him or opposed his policies. (Here's a fact-check.) A draft list for the Trump administration's planned travel ban includes 43 countries — broader than the ban he enacted in his first term. See the list. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, is investigating whether intelligence officials leaked information to the news media. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Mehmet Oz, the former TV doctor tapped to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, largely deflected Democrats' concerns and seemed to escape unscathed. Oklahoma's Board of Education approved social studies standards that would ask high school students to identify "discrepancies" in the 2020 election. President Trump signed an executive order seeking to dismantle seven more federal agencies, including the one that oversees Voice of America. Other Big Stories A wildfire in Stillwater, Okla. Nick Oxford/Reuters Wildfires spread rapidly across the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma, fueled by dry conditions and hurricane-force winds. President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine order its forces in the Kursk region of Russia to surrender. Russian forces have recently taken the upper hand in the region. SpaceX launched a rocket en route to the International Space Station, which will allow two NASA astronauts to return home after an unexpected nine-month stay. A group of volunteers searching for missing relatives in Mexico discovered what they called an "extermination camp," with several underground cremation ovens. It's not clear who operated the camp. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. Claudette Barius/Focus Features, via Associated Press In "Black Bag," Cate Blanchette and Michael Fassbender play married spies who turn on each other. It's one of 10 new movies our critics are talking about this week. Netflix is lavishing money on adaptations of beloved literature — and making them feel like just more Netflix, Robert Rubsam writes. There's a new Looney Tunes movie out. Listen to Eric Bauza, the voice of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. Music On her latest album, "Mayhem," Lady Gaga dances on the line between clever self-referentiality and rehashing, our critic writes. The new season of the New York Philharmonic includes a celebration America's 250th birthday. Our critics compiled a list of highlights from the lineup. The Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina created music that was at once adventurous, religious and great, a rarity in modern times. Gubaidulina died this week at 93. Theater Paul Mescal, Anjana Vasan and Patsy Ferran in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Paul Mescal stars in a revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Our critic says Mescal, known for sensitive portrayals of hurting hunks, does justice to the brutish Stanley. The veteran stage and screen actress Jean Smart will star in "Call Me Izzy," a one-woman Broadway show. A new production of "Othello," starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, made $2.8 million last week — a record for a nonmusical on Broadway. More Culture Niantic, the company behind the hit mobile game Pokémon Go, is selling its video game business to a company owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund for $3.5 billion. A philanthropist couple donated $50 million to the Lincoln Center to promote contemporary dance. The center hopes the gift will revive New York's dance industry after the pandemic. Netflix signed a deal with the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who drew widespread scorn last year when he mocked Puerto Rico at a Trump rally. How much do you know about the great author feuds of modern literature? Take this quiz. Save up to 75% on Games. Our best offer won't last. Love to play? Discover all our games. Subscribe to New York Times Games today and save up to 75% on your first year — improve your Wordle strategy with Wordle Bot, reach Genius on Spelling Bee, plus more. Come play with us. CULTURE CALENDAR By Desiree Ibekwe 📚 "We Tell Ourselves Stories" (Out now): The culture is obsessed with Joan Didion. It's easy to understand why: Her virtuosic works allowed us to peer into her mind, but only just. Since her death in late 2021, several books have sought to parse her legacy. Next month, Knopf will publish 200 pages of her journal entries. Here's another Didion biography for the bookshelf. In this book — subtitled "Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine" — the Times critic Alissa Wilkinson explores Didion's relationship to film. It is not a hagiography, however: "Its strongest sections," our reviewer writes, "are the ones that question rather than venerate her." RECIPE OF THE WEEK Christopher Simpson for The New York Times By Melissa Clark Pasta With Spicy Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas If you're craving the comfort of a big bowl of pasta, Lidey Heuck's pasta with spicy sausage, broccoli rabe and chickpeas makes an easy and hearty late winter meal. Lidey's clever move is to add earthy, nutty chickpeas to the traditional Italian combination of sausage and broccoli rabe. Then she takes it all one step further, stirring Parmesan, butter, and lemon into the pan to balance the flavors and add body to the sauce. Her recipe is flexible, too. Substitute broccoli or other study greens in for the broccoli rabe, and feel free to use any kind of sausage or shape of pasta you've got on hand. Maybe make it once according to the recipe, then let yourself play. Dishes like these are the most fun to adapt. REAL ESTATE Chris Ramos in the Bay Area. Marissa Leshnov for The New York Times The Hunt: A California native spent years living in room rentals and a van to save for a home of his own. Which did he choose? Play our game. What you get for $350,000: A 1936 cottage in San Antonio, Texas; a 1925 stucco house in University City, Mo.; or a loft-style condo in Atlanta. LIVING Milan's Centrale railway station. Pontus Berghe Four trains, five cities: A writer devised her own urban European grand tour. A new life: The art and fashion world convened at Rick Owen's house for the relaunch of Karlie Kloss's i-D Magazine. Florida: Palm Beach society goes on, with and without Trump. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Spring gardening essentials When it comes to gardening, plenty of factors are out of your control (weather, pests, even how long it takes a flower to bloom). But the right gear can make a big difference. Consider your hose: If you've ever stood in your yard hopelessly untangling a knotted, dribbling one, you're probably due for an upgrade. Wirecutter's experts have tested and gathered the best essential gardening gear, including gloves, pruners and a very cute watering can. And don't forget to protect yourself from the sun: A wide-brimmed hat can help. — Haley Jo Lewis GAME OF THE WEEK Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari car during a practice round on Friday. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Australian Grand Prix: Formula 1 exploded in popularity a few years ago, thanks in part to a captivating Netflix documentary series, but the sport itself has been in a dynastic rut. Max Verstappen (with Red Bull) won the past four drivers' titles; before him, Lewis Hamilton (with Mercedes) won four straight. No other team had won a title in 14 years. Finally, things seem to be changing. A different team — McLaren — won last year's team title. Verstappen's Red Bull car is no longer dominant. And Hamilton has left Mercedes for team Ferrari. This very well could be the most interesting season in years. Tonight at 12 a.m. Eastern on ESPN (replay tomorrow at 3 p.m. on ESPNews) NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was rollback. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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