How Covid-19 Revealed the Realities of a Racially Polarized America

May 1, 2020

According to the C.D.C., the rate of diabetes is 66 percent higher in black Americans than in white Americans; the rate of hypertension is 49 percent higher. The elevated rates of these serious illnesses have weaponized the coronavirus to catastrophic effect in black America. The coronavirus pandemic has further stripped bare the racial divide in the health of our nation.

For the Zulu club, a black social organization in New Orleans, Mardi Gras was a joy. The coronavirus made it a tragedy.

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OUR COVER STORY

L. Kasimu Harris for The New York Times

‘A Terrible Price’: The Deadly Racial Disparities of Covid-19 in America

For the Zulu club, a black social organization in New Orleans, Mardi Gras was a joy. The coronavirus made it a tragedy.

By Linda Villarosa and L. Kasimu Harris

Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back the American Chestnut?

The tree helped build industrial America before disease wiped out an estimated three billion or more of them. To revive their lost glory, we may need to embrace tinkering with nature.

By Gabriel Popkin

Illustration by Olimpia Zagnoli

178 Hours in Milan During the Lockdown

A visual diary by the artist Olimpia Zagnoli.

By Olimpia Zagnoli

Illustration by Jules Julien

Stephen King Has an Idea for the Story Joe Biden Could Be Telling

“Do you want somebody who’s capable of dealing with a situation like coronavirus or do you want somebody who’s so focused on his self-image that he’s not able to do that?”