Image copyright: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui Disguised blessing.

Crowd control. India’s famously lavish, multi-day nuptials are getting leaner by necessity during Covid-19. In this insightful piece, Manavi Kapur writes that health restrictions have many couples saying their vows in front of a mere 100 witnesses, compared to a mainstream Hindu wedding’s typical 500 guests. Some millennial brides and grooms-to-be have welcomed the change, which has brought with it huge savings and greater autonomy. For the industry, the effects have been more complicated, but not entirely devastating. —Lila MacLellan, senior reporter

We’re so hot for them and they’re so cold. -70°C (-94°F) is crazy cold, colder than the North Pole in January. It’s also the temperature at which one experimental Covid-19 vaccine needs to be kept—colder than necessary for most pharmaceuticals currently in circulation. Olivia Goldhill explains how healthcare facilities are working to get their hands on these super cold freezers, and how the entire supply chain would have to make changes to get these vaccines to where they’re needed. —Alex Ossola, special projects editor

We built this city on…office workers? I fled a small-town childhood for a life in the big city, so I was eager to read Lila MacLellan’s article on whether metropolises can survive without white-collar workers and the companies that employ them. The TL;DR answer is “no,” but the creative solutions for how to encourage those businesses to stick around, while making cities more livable for everyone, give me hope. —Liz Webber, senior news curator

The Native American approach to forest management. Fires are burning across large swaths of the US. Tim McDonnell’s story suggests that part of the problem lies in the idea that fires can and should be prevented. His explanation of the indigenous tactics that rely on a mixture of controlled burns and forest thinning left me hopeful that there may be a way to mitigate damage in the future—but only if the federal government gives more license to Native American tribes. —Sarah Todd, senior reporter

The Emmys like you’ve never seen them before (thankfully). Formerly a sucker for awards shows, I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d tuned in to any of them until I read Adam Epstein’s piece about the virtual chaos that could be the 2020 Emmys this Sunday. Is it possible that, as a genre, the bejeweled red carpet has gotten stale? The iconic US TV awards show’s declining viewership indicates that something certainly has, and an unscripted journey into the homes of the glitterati could give the Emmys the boost it sorely needed. —Susan Howson, news editor