Weekend reads: 11 of the best international premium pieces

Larry David, who is under self-quarantine, at the door of his home in Los Angeles. Photo / Jake Michaels, The New York Times

Welcome to the long weekend. This Easter will look different to other years as we remain in lockdown due to the coronavirus. Instead of heading away for the break we'll hunting Easter eggs in our backyard.

To help you pass the time over the coming four days we've pulled together some of the best pieces from our premium international syndicators this week. There's a mix of Covid-19 content for those wanting more information, and content on a range of other topics for those looking for a break from the virus.

Happy reading.

Larry David, master of his quarantine

Our lives now depend on staying home and doing nothing.

We are cooped up with no end in sight, getting increasingly irascible.

Who better than the father of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm to guide us through the thicket of being together, alone?

Maureen Dowd from The New York Times reached out to the world's leading expert on the art of nothing.

Light at the end of the table: Larry David sits reflectively near chandelier, sconce and candleholder. Photo / Jake Michaels, The New York Times

He says his Nazi days are over. Do you believe him?

Jeff Schoep, who led America's largest neo-Nazi organization for two-and-a-half decades, recently shared that he had renounced his racist views.

His announcement has generated heated discussion about the best way to defeat the resurgence of open bigotry tearing at the social fabric of the US.

Some civil rights experts have said reformed neo-Nazis should use their outsize influence to draw others away from white nationalism. That is what Schoep says he wants to do, but what should the process of moving beyond his past look like?

Schoep talks to John Eligon of The New York Times about destroying the neo-Nazi group he once led.

Jeff Schoep, the former leader of the National Socialist Movement, is a defendant in a lawsuit involving the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. Photo / Allison Farrand, New York Times

Predictions for the coronavirus stock market

The world has never seen an event quite like this before — a new pandemic that is being aggressively throttled by draconian shutdowns of whole industries, and by confining millions of people to their homes. The tools of statistical analysis and machine learning, powerful as they are, can't adequately assess what the world is experiencing. There isn't any stock market experience that is entirely analogous.

A Nobel laureate is cautiously positive about the market for the long run but worries about how long that will need to be.

Robert J. Shiller of The New York Times reports.

Where the stockmarket is heading during the coronavirus pandemic is uncertain. Photo / 123RF

Can the sports industry survive the coronavirus shutdown?

The business model of many sports is under threat. While each one has different characteristics, most of their money is made in three ways: broadcasting deals, sponsorship contracts and "match day" income from tickets, hospitality and spending during events. These revenue streams are drying up.

Executives believe wider disruption lies ahead.

Murad Ahmed, Mark Di Stefano and Anna Nicolaou of The Financial Times report.

The Tokyo Olympics were delayed and will now open next year in the same time slot that was scheduled for this year's games. Photo / AP

Your health is in peril. Enter Gwyneth Paltrow

We all have our coping mechanisms, some more productive than others. Lately I've found a perverse form of escapism by scrolling through the Instagram feeds of wellness influencers — intuitive nutritionists, adaptogenic alchemists, plant-based-lifestyle evangelists — to see how well they're doing now.

In a word, they are glowing.

To the wellness industry, the coronavirus represents not just a loss but an opportunity for self-actualisation.

Amanda Hess of The New York Times reports.

To the wellness industry, the coronavirus represents not just a loss but an opportunity for self-actualisation. Photo / Cari Vander Yacht, The New York Times

Their grandmother left by ambulance. Then they could not find her

The emergency medical technicians who rushed into Maria Correa's room in protective gear found a pulse. They told the family in Queens that they were taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

But when her family called the hospital the next day to check on her condition, they were told she was not there.

For a week, family members called the fire department, other hospital offices and the emergency medical service that had picked her up, near death, from her home.

But Correa, 73, was nowhere to be found.

Sharon Otterman and Ali Watkins of The New York Times talk to the family about their ordeal.

A flyer shared after Maria Correa went missing. Photo / Janeth Solis via The New York Times

Ten digital miscommunications — and how to avoid them

As Covid-19 spreads across the world, more and more of us are working from home. In light of this global shift (and all of our heightened stress levels), it's crucial to take steps to avoid miscommunication when working as part of a virtual team.

Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy from the Harvard Business Review share their tips for staying connected.

With so many of us are working from home it's important to avoid miscommunication when working as part of a virtual team. Photo / 123RF

Coronavirus ended the screen-time debate. Screens won

Before the coronavirus, there was something I used to worry about. It was called screen time. Perhaps you remember it.

I thought about it. I wrote about it. A lot. I would try different digital detoxes as if they were fad diets.

Now? Bring on the Zoom cocktail hour.

Nellie Bowles of The New York Times has thrown off the shackles of screen-time guilt and you should too.

Before the coronavirus we worried about having too much screen time. Now we can't get enough. Illustration / Andrea Chronopoulos, The New York Times

'Zoombombing' becomes a dangerous organised effort

In recent weeks, as schools, businesses, support groups and millions of individuals have adopted Zoom as a meeting platform in an increasingly remote world, reports of "Zoombombing" or "Zoom raiding" by uninvited participants have become frequent.

The weaponisation of Zoom is the latest development in the story of online abuse, the kind playing out on social networks and darker, unmoderated corners of the internet.

Taylor Lorenz and Davey Alba of The New York Times look at how Zoom has become a target for harassment and abuse.

Reports of "Zoombombing" or "Zoom raiding" by uninvited participants have become frequent. Photo / Daniel Zender, The New York Times

Is this the most virus-proof job in the world?

Ben Lupo sat in his basement in Omaha, Nebraska, one recent afternoon, trying to kill a brigade of heavily armed Russians before they killed him.

Lupo did not stew over his demise. He didn't have time. About 13,000 people were watching him live on Twitch, the streaming platform where hordes of fans can pay to follow the best online gamers in the business. Few attract bigger crowds than Lupo, and since the coronavirus began forcing people to shelter in place, his crowds have only grown.

"I feel," he said, "like I've been preparing for this moment my whole life."

David Segal of The New York Times looks at how pro video game streamers are used to spending their days in isolation.

Pro video gamer Ben Lupo is used to isolation. Photo / Getty Images

German village prays for a (2nd) miracle

There is no doubt in the mind of the Reverend Thomas Gröner that what happened in his village was a miracle.

He says he has proof, too.

The pandemic had ravaged the village, with 1 in 4 people believed to have died.

Then villagers stood before a cross and pledged to God that if he spared those who remained, they would perform the Passion play — enacting Jesus' life, death and resurrection — every 10th year forever after.

Katrin Bennhold of The New York Times looks at how a new pandemic has forced villagers to abandon a promise made in 1633.

"Social distancing hurts when social contact is your livelihood," said Anton Preisinger, who was to play Pilate and owns a hotel in the village. Photo / Laetitia Vancon, The New York Times