Perspectives

This year we have learned again to love the classroom—that lowly, unsung structure of walls and desks set aside for the purpose of learning. For learning has always been more than a matter of mental activity. The space where our bodies sit shapes the processes and possibilities taking place in our minds, write Peter Boumgarden and Abram Van Engen.

As we look toward the post-COVID-19 future, I can only hope that this pandemic will lead to a shift in what we want, expect, and even get from the news. I want to continue to see newscasters we can connect to as real, writes Jessica Gold.

As the triple challenges that stem from the COVID-19 crisis unfold — and creates challenges for our safety net programs, nonprofit organizations, and government budgets — we also must remember that those who will suffer the most will be those who can least afford to sustain the burden of the challenge, writes Timothy McBride.

In this video, general internist Jennifer Schmidt, MD, at the School of Medicine, describes how she had to quickly adapt her clinic to keep patients and staff safe during the COVID-19 crisis and the impacts such changes could have on the practice of medicine.

So, are you thinking of retiring? Just because you are in your 70s? Michelangelo was just entering the busiest and most creative years of his life. And look what he accomplished 52 years after completing the Sistine Chapel, writes William Wallace.

Now is the time for decisive leadership and policy action, informed by the available or new behavioral health science. America might be approaching a tidal wave of despair and our behavioral health systems cannot adequately prepare without prudent federal legislative action, writes Sean Joe.

PhD candidate Mark Beirn, a graduate student fellow in the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, is familiar with the challenge of keeping travelers safe during a global health crisis. He writes that policymakers dealing with COVID-19 could benefit from reviewing Nairobi, Kenya’s handling of its public infrastructure during the yellow fever scare […]

As a psychiatrist, I understand the realities of the mental health stressors that exist from this global pandemic and the potential for an increase in psychological care needs now and in the aftermath. However, it’s possible that we emerge from this with innumerable positive mental-health outcomes, writes Jessica Gold.

Michael Sherraden and other Brown School faculty members write an article saying the COVID-19 pandemic makes clear the importance of ensuring poor Americans have access to banks and other modern financial tools — and they propose a way to provide such access.

Visualizations that avoid perceptual distortions and play to cognitive strengths can improve public understanding of the evolving pandemic, writes Jeffrey Zacks.