Struggles and Connections Amid Crisis

As the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, The New York Times Magazine asked 29 authors to write new short stories inspired by the moment — and by Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” which was written as a plague ravaged Florence in the 14th century. We’ve selected two for you to hear today.

These stories were written by Tommy Orange and Edwidge Danticat. They were recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.