The job of a journalist is to keep the public informed. At its best, our profession helps to shine lights where light isn’t being shined and help people make the billions of little decisions that flap the butterfly wings that govern our world. That always matters, but it’s hard to think of a moment in my lifetime where it has mattered more than right now. Because of one virus, or even perhaps one encounter with a bat, entire countries are being shut down. Venice was founded roughly sixteen hundred years ago, and probably hasn’t been this empty since the days of the Black Death.

The heroes of the moment are the doctors and the other health care workers keeping people alive; the civilians caring for their neighbors; the construction workers putting up temporary testing facilities; the scientists trying to map and track the virus; the researchers developing diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines. But journalists have a crucial role to play too. We have to provide the best information possible at a time where many things are unclear. We have to combat the lies that spread online or even from seats of power. We need to help the public understand the science of Covid-19 and we need to spotlight the work that could help lead us to a cure. We need to play our civic part in helping to flatten the curve.

WIRED has a particular responsibility here, as a publication that’s always focused on finding solutions, and as a publication obsessed by science and the future. So we’ve moved many of our reporters to cover the pandemic; we’ll be dedicating as many resources as we can to playing whatever role we can in keeping the public informed.

And so, as part of that effort, we’re lifting our paywall on coronavirus stories and starting a newsletter highlighting the best coverage of this pandemic both from WIRED and from other publications. You can get started with some essential reading below. Stay safe out there.

Nicholas Thompson | WIRED Editor in Chief