Pietro is an academic friend in Rome. He lives in a flat and has been in lockdown for a week. He tells me he is slowly going crazy because his […]
Columnists
Daniel Sokol: Ethics in these pandemic times may require us to endure sacrifices on our personal freedom or comfort
Covid-19 has brought to the fore a range of ethical issues affecting individuals, organisations, and governments. As individuals, we have moral obligations towards ourselves and others. Clearly, the man who […]
Peter Brindley: Covid-19 is a chance to remember that the team matters, not just our personal success
Like many of you my life is now fully consumed by single-stranded RNA ne’er-do-well viruses. I am writing this the night before returning to what I expect to be pandemonium […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Hooping cough
Hwæt! Several Old English poems begin thus, followed immediately or soon after by some variant of “we have heard ….”. The best known example is that of Beowulf, which dates […]
Richard Smith: Four future scenarios of death and dying
The future is unpredictable. The unexpected happens often and can have a major impact. Nevertheless, some thought of how the future might look is important in preparing for it. Scenarios […]
Matt Morgan: A letter from ICU
It must be so hard listening to endless news reports that end with “don’t worry, this illness mainly affects the elderly, frail, vulnerable, or those with serious underlying health conditions.” […]
Staff wearing beards and covid-19: trickier than it looks
We have lately been asked for an opinion on whether doctors who may be exposed to the coronavirus are under an obligation to remove their beards—and, presumably, any other facial […]
Tom Jefferson: Covidair flight 19 from Rome to Oxford and back again
Antonio (not his real name) sits in the departure hall in Rome Fiumicino airport. He is one of those guys who wrap your luggage up in plastic. He initially complains […]
Richard Smith: My worry about my mother is not her dying of covid-19, but her dying on a trolley in an emergency department
My 90-year-old mother is demented in the most benign way: she says sweet words to all the people she meets and lives in a world of trees, sunlight, and cups […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Prediction
Whoever said that prediction is very difficult, especially of the future, somehow gave it the ring of truth. But, like so many sayings of this sort, it has been attributed […]