Six reads to help you through turbulent times

We are living in a remarkable moment in history. What you are feeling right now – fear, anxiety, loss, anger – is not unique to you. These weeks will go down as some of the most tumultuous and extraordinary in at least the past 100 years. The weight of that history is going to feel overwhelming, even if you’re a person who normally handles stress well.

What has brought me the most calm in the past few days, even as extraordinary things are happening all around me, is the reminder that we are all physically connected to each other. We are physically connected because we share the same small planet. We breathe the same air. We have the same biology. We are in this together. No amount of social distancing can change that. We are a family.

And now the coronavirus has physically connected all of us via literal person-to-person spread of a disease that, left unchecked, could radically alter society. In response, we have radically altered our society out of solidarity. In the past days, we have performed incredible acts of personal sacrifice and compassion.

At a time like this when so much seems unknown or unknowable, it’s important to remember we will always have the ability to appreciate and create beauty and love. We can always choose to act in solidarity with each other. As my colleague Rutger Bregman writes this week: in moments of crisis, almost all people are good to each other. 

To me, acting in solidarity is a source of deep calm and certainty – and it just so happens that’s exactly what it will take to transform our society.

Finding music amid unthinkable devastation There is something deeply uncomfortable about stories of "hope", "optimism", "resilience", and the "triumph of the human spirit" around humanitarian disasters. Often, we who celebrate such stories are from outside the communities most affected by these disasters, so it feels like wrongful appropriation of a pain that we can never truly know. But in the darkest hour, such stories are a salve that cannot be matched by anything else. When I read this Medium post by the World Health Organization, featuring survivors from the Ebola crisis, I was overcome with love and respect for these people I will never meet. The story of Kasereka Miyisa Jophet, who lost everything to the disease and yet returned to sing lullabies to soothe children in an Ebola camp, reminded me what it takes to be human: finding music amid unthinkable devastation. (Tanmoy, Sanity correspondent) Medium: ‘1000 survivors: harnessing hope to end an ebola outbreak’ (reading time: 12 minutes)

Uncertainty fuels anxiety, so data is vital My sister called me panicking earlier this week. Rumours were flying around online that the school where she teaches would be shut because of a coronavirus infection. It’s a good reminder that sometimes the more information we have available to us, the harder it is to figure out the truth. Corona liveblogs! Warnings from experts! Predictions by charlatans! You’ll-never-believe-which-celebrity-has-corona Facebook posts! It’s exhausting. No wonder we’re feeling scared. So if like me you’re calmed by clear, accurate information, you can turn off the 24/7 news notifications and just read this exhaustive but easy-to-navigate article by the University of Oxford’s Our World in Data. (Shaun, copy editor) Our World in Data: ‘Covid-19 – research and statistics’ (reading time: as long as you want)

This is how you protect yourself from the coronavirus Palli Thordarson, a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, has been kind enough to explain the best – and cheapest – way to protect ourselves from infection. Besides quarantine – or the more depressing term "social isolation" – it turns out that everyday household soap is better than most sanitiser products on the market. And the science behind it is fascinating as well. Read all about how soap is perfectly suited to destroy one of the main building blocks of coronavirus, rendering the virus useless. Understanding the mechanism behind Covid-19 helps you understand how to protect yourself and your loved ones. (Sebastian, managing director) Futurism: ‘This, not hand sanitiser, will save us from the coronavirus’ (reading time: 10 minutes)

The best of The Correspondent

Politics is failing, but human networks could show us how to fix it As the Better Politics correspondent, I intend to explore solutions to the problems presented by ineffective political organisations. One place to look? The armies of individuals, plugging the gaps left by institutions. Read Nesrine Malik’s piece here Try to practise a bit of loving kindness today. The effects are extraordinary Here’s my favourite thing about kindness. Even a small dose of it can significantly improve how we feel about ourselves and the world around us. Read OluTimehin Adegbeye’s piece here Don’t forget: disasters and crises bring out the best in people Disasters and crises bring out the best in us. This simple fact is confirmed by more solid evidence than almost any other scientific insight, but we often forget. Now more than ever, in the middle of a pandemic, it’s crucial to remember this. Read Rutger Bregman’s piece here