I Dream of Jetlag

After 12 Years in the Sky, a Flight Attendant Braces for Furloughs and Adjusts to Life on the Ground

Last year, a time in history I want to mark as 2019 BC—that is, Before COVID—I was at the height of my flight attendant career. I had just reached the top of the pay scale at a major airline. Globe-trotting was not only my job but also my pastime. In March, 2019, I took a three-week vacation to Southeast Asia with a group of friends; we toured North Vietnam like Anthony Bourdain, took a midnight train to Da Nang, cruised on a long-tail boat on the Mekong Delta, and went …

There’s a Special Place in Dante’s Purgatory for Wafflers and Neutral Souls | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

There’s a Special Place in Dante’s Inferno for Wafflers and Neutral Souls

From MLK and JFK to Gavin Newsom, Dante’s Misquoters Still Get to the Heart of the Poet’s Disdain for Moral Cowardice

Dante’s Divine Comedy, an epic poem recounting the Florentine’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, remains the go-to guide to the afterlife, the world’s most famous travelogue for the great …

Can Anything Cure the Pandemic of Waiting and Worrying? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Can Anything Cure the Pandemic of Waiting and Worrying?

A Psychologist of Uncertainty Has Some Ideas to Help Us Cope With This Unprecedented Time

The sources of uncertainty are numerous right now. Will my job still be there when the pandemic ends? When can I see my friends and family again? Is it safe …

Californians, Let’s Talk About Ditching School This Fall | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Californians, Let’s Talk About Ditching School This Fall

Instead of Weighing Bad Options, Put Educational Resources and Personnel Toward Fighting the Pandemic

Perhaps we should stop pretending that California is going to educate its children this fall—and instead transfer our educational resources into COVID-19 control.

As the pandemic worsens, California parents, teachers, and …