Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.Aaron MarinNine months into this outbreak, your brain may feel like it’s been tumbling around in a washing machine, bouncing up against despair and hope intermittently.

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, James Hamblin takes questions from readers about health-related curiosities, concerns, and obsessions. Have one? Email him at paging.dr.hamblin@theatlantic.com.Dear Dr. Hamblin,I’m an American living in Germany, and I’ve been following how some people in the United States have opposed lockdowns due to fears about “shutting down the economy.

An unprecedented outbreak of wind-driven wildfires has erupted across parts of California, Oregon, and Washington in recent days, generating enormous clouds of thick smoke that have blanketed much of the Pacific Coast, affecting visibility and air quality. California’s wildfires this year have burned more than 2 million acres, setting a new record, according to the state’s fire department.

In our series “Behind the Byline,” we’re chatting with Atlantic staffers to learn more about who they are and how they approach their work. Adam Serwer is a staff writer on the Ideas desk who focuses on politics, race, and citizenship.This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.Nesima Aberra: How would you describe your beat?Adam Serwer: I would say that for the past few years my beat has been race and citizenship.

Now more than ever, it feels good to get outside. For John Mayer, a journey into the Redwoods of Northern California earlier this year underscored that point, as the musician explored Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park behind the wheel of his favorite vehicle, the new 2020 Land Rover Defender.The experience is captured in “John Mayer Goes Outside,” a new advertising campaign from Atlantic Re:think and Land Rover.