What will be the new normals after the coronavirus pandemic?

I've spent, you know, 30 years trying to get people to understand that physics and chemistry matter. And the real source of optimism might come from knowing that the aftermath of plagues has, consistently, brought about some of the great transformations, leaving societies looking radically different. Jon Wertheim: You're talking about real enhancements that we've enjoyed for centuries that have sprung from plagues.Frank Snowden: Yes, that's absolutely correct.But before we advance, we must survive, what is being termed, "the war," an analogy used to help us conceive of the inconceivable. What did you mean by that?Arundhati Roy: Well, I just meant that, you know, the world has spent so much time guarding its borders against the outsider, or the enemy, you know? And there isn't any connection between the past and the future.Arundhati Roy: We should not be trying to stitch them together without thinking about that rupture, you know? It's hard to conceive of another time in human history when, worldwide, the best minds of our generation were all fixated on solving the same riddle, scribbling on the same blackboard, sharing data and sharing screens.And it is precisely this spirit that will determine how the aftermath of COVID-19 transforms us and shapes our future.Do we reimagine health care, now that we've seen how easily systems stress and lock out so many?And what about the gulfs between rich and poor?Maybe the biggest decision of all, now that the planet has essentially hissed, "I will not be ignored," how do we confront the climate emergency? Maybe it's sorta time to think about taking the slightly less travelled one.Jon Wertheim: What-- what does the less travelled road look like here?Bill McKibben: We've spent the last 7,500 years really fixated, in our country and increasingly around the world, on economic growth as the reason for all being. Arundhati Roy's India is home to 17 of world's 25 most polluted cities; and not coincidentally the world's fastest growing major economy.Jon Wertheim: What is it normally like in Delhi?Arundhati Roy: Well, normally it is dystopian, you know? And if we do, maybe the Earth will meet us halfway.Jon Wertheim: And when people say, "We need to get this economy restarted. You've gotta pay attention to reality or else ya end up getting bit by it, and bit pretty hard, okay?Jon Wertheim: You're sayin' flatten another curve?Bill McKibben: Flatten another curve. And-- and-- and if we did that, then people might look back in 50 years at this time and thank us, you know, instead of curse us.