Vietnam, Slovenia, and 3 other overlooked coronavirus success stories

It seems like some countries have figured out not only how to flatten their coronavirus curves, but also how to send them plunging downward.

From Slovenia to Jordan to Iceland, governments took early action to impose lockdowns, test and trace thousands of people, isolate the sick, encourage social distancing and preventive measures like mask wearing, and communicate honestly with the public.

Those interventions curbed the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths, allowing leaders to reopen schools and businesses and reintroduce a sense of normalcy into everyday life. Some are now reporting no new confirmed cases or deaths.…

The layoffs at Airbnb cast a dark shadow over Silicon Valley

Airbnb, seen until recently as one of Silicon Valley’s most financially secure unicorns, is laying off a quarter of its staff. It’s an ominous sign for the tech economy.

Brian Chesky, the company’s founder and CEO, told staff on Tuesday that the company’s revenue would be halved and that it would terminate about 1,900 of its 7,500 staff members — one of the largest layoffs in total that Silicon Valley has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Airbnb’s decision serves as a stark reminder of the coronavirus’s toll, which has hamstrung the global economy, forcing almost all startups to …

Demand for meatless meat is skyrocketing during the pandemic

Retail sales of plant-based food are taking off during the coronavirus pandemic. The last time I braved the grocery store, which was a few weeks ago, I unwittingly illustrated two of the main reasons why.

First, I went in search of eggs. The store was all out, but right above the shelf where I usually find them, I spied a bottle of Just Egg, the plant-based substitute made out of beans. I’d never had eggless eggs before, but now, out of necessity, I decided to try something new.

Then I walked through the meat aisle. There was still plenty …

Millions of Americans are losing their jobs. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Few Americans alive today have ever seen jobless numbers as bad as they are right now. Economists estimate that between 13 percent and 18 percent of US workers are unemployed — the highest rate since the Great Depression.

It’s tempting to see that figure as somewhat inevitable, the unfortunate but unavoidable cost of economic lockdown. It’s why Congress has prioritized shoring up unemployment insurance benefits.

But as a handful of European countries have shown, mass unemployment isn’t a given. It’s a policy choice.

In this video, we explain how and why the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands chose a …

This week in TikTok: Pancake cereal, the newest viral food

Hello from The Goods’ twice-weekly newsletter! On Tuesdays, internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings uses this space to update you all on what’s been going on in the world of TikTok. Is there something you want to see more of? Less of? Different of? Email [email protected], and subscribe to The Goods’ newsletter here.

Nothing is certain except death, taxes, and gimmicky food videos, even in a pandemic. Remember a few weeks ago when everyone was making Dalgona coffee, a.k.a. cloud coffee, a.k.a. fluffy coffee? There is now another TikTok trend you can make with practically zero ingredients that …