As we confront the reality of COVID-19, the idea of living self-sufficiently in the woods, far from crowds and grocery stores, doesn't sound so bad. Lynx Vilden has been doing just that for decades, while teaching others how to live primitively, too.

I'm sure in today's COVID-19 lockdown, despite all of the technologies we have to occupy us, computers, television, cellphones, many of us are feeling profound isolation, loneliness and boredom. But this big slowdown gives me time every day to play with my grandchildren who are isolated with me, to read and to think about what has mattered most in my life, what has given me the greatest joy and satisfaction, and where I hope the world might go after I'm gone.

Remember the Darwin Awards story about the poor guy who threw a lit stick of dynamite only to have his Labrador retriever go fetch it? Whether he’s mythical or not, I’ve always felt that we were too hard on him. Did he really do anything all that stupid? Throwing the dynamite seems smarter than holding onto it. Let anyone who hasn’t done something stupid step forward.

The long read: Without a street address you have no access to credit or bank accounts, a pension or voting rights. But large parts of the world’s population still live off the map

A record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country. The Labor Department's report Thursday was one of the first official indicators of how many people have suddenly been forced out of work nationally.

Life has changed a lot in the past few days, weeks, or months, depending where you live. As efforts to contain the novel coronavirus ramp up, it’s likely going to change even more. But we’re already sick of being at home all the time, we miss our friends and families, everything’s been canceled, the economy is tanking, and we feel anxious and scared about what’s ahead.

Scientists are explaining the moonshot effort needed to end social distancing and this pandemic. Will leaders listen?

We found that a lack of critical skills about the online environment matched up with lower levels of education and employment.

At 44KW, a nightclub in Shanghai, life almost feels normal again. Bartenders mix cocktails for patrons leaning against the bar. Groups sit close together without face masks on, talking and sipping their drinks. A young woman pulls down her mask and speaks into her phone as she livestreams to her followers. A DJ plays disco under a neon sign saying “Dance me to the end of love” while a few venture out to the dance floor.

Before the coronavirus arrived ― back when I used to be able to leave my house ― I had my “real-life friends” and my “online friends,” two categorically different groups of people in my mind. My real-life friends were the people I didn’t necessarily see every single day, but with whom I had regularly shared physical experiences at some point in my life: dinners, movies, trips to exotic places.

Children are out of school. Patrons are forgoing restaurants and flooding grocery stores. Millions have been ordered to shelter in place. The United States is facing an unprecedented crisis. But from chaos comes heroes. Despite so much uncertainty and with lives indefinitely upended, people and communities are still coming together to support one another. Here are some of the ways people are lending a hand through individual acts and large-scale efforts.

The long read: Doomsday luxury accommodation is a booming business, offering customers a chance to sit out global pandemics and nuclear wars in comfort – as long as they have the money to pay for it

The stock market is in turmoil. Workers are being sent home. A recession could already be here. How long can this continue before the economy crashes?

In the age of social distancing, working from home has become the new normal. But coronavirus quarantine has led to an interesting trend in fashion: sales for tops are up, and sales for pants are down. Millions of workers, typically bound to business or business-casual attire in the office, are now free to lounge around their homes in hoodies and sweatpants. But tops still play an important role as many employees will get semi-dressed for video conference calls.

London’s leafy streets and gardens have long been prized for their beauty — and more recently their ability to counteract carbon emissions and improve air quality. But the value of urban trees can also be measured with money. A new report from Britain’s Office of National Statistics estimates tree cover saved the capital more than 5 billion pounds ($6.56 billion) from 2014 to 2018 through air cooling alone.

Current research in economics and psychology explains the violence and hysteria.

At the bottom rung of the SoCal rental market, some tenants live in insect- and mold-infested units, struggling to get their most basic maintenance needs met.

The long read: After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. But his life would get even more precarious

Generally, I don’t think about death during the day. My schedule is full, and I focus on what is right before my eyes. It’s usually only when I go to funerals that I reflect upon deaths past, present and future; most of the time I think about life. Still, about once a month I wake in the night and know with absolute clarity that I will soon be gone.

We emerged like miners rescued from the dark pits of the earth and vowed: never again.