‘Losing our grip’: In some neighborhoods, the devastation of the pandemic goes far beyond the disease itself.

Plenty of numbers can quantify the way the pandemic and the resulting recession have battered the United States: At least 7.8 million people have fallen into poverty, the biggest plunge in six decades; 85 million Americans say they have had trouble paying basic household expenses, including food and rent. But those numbers do not capture…

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How To Spend in 2021

Maybe you learned you enjoyed driving to the beach more than flying with your toddlers for a vacation. Maybe ordering out a few more nights a week was a lifesaver after a busy day. Maybe you want to keep contributing to a charity you came across. “Heading into 2021, we can use this information to…

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How to Take Your Family Geocaching

If it feels as if you’ve already explored every last nook and cranny of your cramped lockdown life know this: Right under your nose, there’s a hidden world operating entirely out of view. That world is geocaching, a no-contact game of hide-and-seek between hundreds of thousands of strangers. Players hide caches — waterproof containers, usually…

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The Best Winter Podcasts

As the holiday season retreats and the long slog of the winter months looms, you can fight the mood or embrace it. Here’s a playlist of cold-weather podcasts, some fiction, some nonfiction, all well-told and produced, and all set in the snow. For musical-theater nerds: Audio dramas — podcast-industry lingo for fictional podcasts — can…

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Post-Pandemic “Firsts”

Megan Peters, Helena, Mont. “I love to swim at my local Y.M.C.A. Getting into the pool always felt like utter bliss, and I would wonder, “Why don’t I do this everyday?” I dream about gliding, swirling, splashing and plunging in the water again.” Sharene Voelkel, San Jose, Calif. “I cannot wait to go to the…

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