The coronavirus lockdown has been a unique social experience that has had significant effects on our social relationships. Some have been strengthened while others have come under severe strain. Many people have found themselves confined for prolonged periods of time with other people and have come into conflict with each other. Others have experienced lockdown alone, resulting in profound social isolation. Some of our everyday interactions have intensified and others have not been possible at all.

"I always tell the story of when I was filling out my driver's licence," says 1Xtra's DJ Ace. "I was 17. I was like, 'Mum, do I fill out this donor bit?' And she was like, 'no, we don't do that'. "I just took that as gospel. My mum said we don't do it. So we don't do it. I never even questioned why. I don't think it's something that the black community do."

Over the pandemic-filled last four months, one thing’s become clear: Face masks can slow the spread of coronavirus and help to flatten the curve. The only issue? Mask-wearing is starting to look like a giant collective action problem — and many Americans are refusing to cooperate. For months, scientists and doctors waffled about the usefulness of masks. The Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, repeatedly told Americans not to buy or wear them if they had no COVID-19 symptoms; in March, Anthony Fauci, one of the top White House advisors on the pandemic, told 60 Minutes that “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

The paid parental leave scheme in New Zealand is extending from 22 weeks to 26 weeks, taking New Zealand up to a full six months of leave for new parents. The maximum weekly payment is also increasing by $20 per week.

Sitting for hours on end could heighten someone's risk of later dying from cancer, according to a sobering new study of the relationship between inactivity and cancer mortality. The study was epidemiological, providing a snapshot of people's lives, so it cannot prove cause and effect. But the findings suggest that extremely sedentary people can be as much as 80 per cent more likely to die of cancer than those who sit the least.

Millennials became the biggest U.S. generation this year, numbering some 73 million people. In terms of wealth, by contrast, they're still living in the shadow of previous generations. Despite making up nearly a quarter of the population, millennials — defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 — own a scant 3% of the country's wealth, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances. In comparison, when baby boomers were the age millennials are today (around 1989), they controlled 21% of all national wealth. Generation-X'ers at the same age (in 2004) held 6%.

Instead of reopening society for the sake of the economy, what if we continued to work less, buy less, make less—for the sake of the planet? At the end of March, Donald Trump tweeted, in all capital letters, "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF." He was referring to the economic ramifications of shutting down the country in order to protect the public from the novel coronavirus, which has now killed over 100,000 Americans.

I know, I know, you'd rather be born smart and rich (and charming, and with a lustrous head of hair, and a voice like Michael Bolton's). But if you had to choose? Chances are, your answer depends on whether you think the U.S. economy is a meritocracy—that intelligence and ambition are more important to lifelong success than the circumstances of your birth.

In the 1946 film, It's a Wonderful Life, family man George Bailey is struggling, and feels there is no way out of his problems. After finding out he owes large sums of money, George contemplates ending his life. With the help of his guardian angel Clarence, he’s given a chance to see what the world would be like if he had never been born.

Until six weeks ago many hung on to the vague idea that people’s relationship with work divided them along binary lines: into winners and precarious losers; “aspirational” types and those who were dependent on the state; and those who had either adjusted to globalisation or were the casualties of it. But if any of this was ever true, the coronavirus crisis has surely consigned most of it to history. Insecurity is now at the heart of tens of millions of lives. Put another way, the “precariat” has suddenly expanded to denote a potentially universal condition.

Seattle residents will have more space to exercise and bike on as the city plans to permanently close 20 miles of streets to most vehicular traffic, the mayor announced Thursday. The Stay Healthy Streets initiative started in April to temporarily provide more space for residents to get out of the house and exercise while maintaining social distancing during the pandemic. Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan said Thursday that the closures will be permanent.

Broadband companies like Charter and Comcast vowed to help low-income people during the pandemic. But taking them up on the offer hasn’t always been easy.

Since the pandemic began, pollution levels have dropped, animals are returning to areas they had previously abandoned and more people have taken to travelling on foot and by bicycle. Although short-lived, we have already seen some of the effects changing our behaviour can have on our own lives and on the natural world.

Environmentalists tend to be well-meaning, forward-thinking people who believe in preserving the planet for generations to come. They will buy reusable cups, wear ethically made clothing and advocate for endangered species; however, many are hesitant to do the same for endangered Black lives, and might be unclear on why they should.

While major countries vie for economic dominance, smaller nations could actually be more effective locations for individuals to work and do business in, according to a new report. The U.S. and China both flopped in the 2020 World Competitive Ranking from the Institute for Management Development (IMD) as ongoing trade tensions continue to weigh on their international standing making way for smaller economies.

If you could live in a luxury apartment (furnishing included), make new friends, and help reduce your carbon footprint, would you jump at the chance? Turns out, it could be within your reach. You already know about shared rides and shared working spaces, but now, sharing has made it to your residence. Introducing: co-living.

According to traditional knowledge, in Southeast Asia at the end of the last Ice Age, “fenua imi,” the swallowing of land, forced people to relocate to faraway atolls in a region now called Oceania. About 4,500 years of global stability allowed for the island cultures to develop and thrive in ways specifically tied to the local environment.

"I'm having a very deathly week," the young woman says, starting the conversation after a round of introductions. All 26 people sit in the dark room in the back of Washington D.C.’s The Potter's House Cafe, encircling a single candle. It isn't the woman's first time talking about death in a group setting. She has been to one of Nicole Heidbreder's "death cafes" before. She says she came out of it feeling very heavy and drained. It called up emotions from her father's death three years ago. Still, she felt compelled to attend a second time.

We've long been taught that helping others helps ourselves. As Charles Dickens wrote, "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." And science has shown that altruistic behaviors -- defined as putting the well-being of others before our own without expecting anything in return -- actually do improve our health.

The year 2019 saw Bill Gates reclaim his title as the world’s richest person from Jeff Bezos — and come under harsher scrutiny than ever amid a new, powerful backlash against the billionaire class and the economic system that produces extraordinary wealth like his.