Bret Stephens: We’re in a new and frightening world, Gail. Every time I get a news alert on my phone, I hear James Earl Jones’s voice in my head, saying, “Mother of God.” And every time I listen to Donald Trump’s voice, I hear Slim Pickens’s voice from “Dr. Strangelove.”

How are you riding out the crisis?

Gail Collins: I’m trying to look upon this as a social experiment on what happens if you require the whole country to stay at home and then deprive them of all sports programming.

Bret: I’m reading Albert Camus’ “The Plague.” Seemed an apropos title.

Gail: Wow.

While you were reading Camus, my husband and I went to our favorite restaurant for what I guess will be the last meal out for a long time. No need to worry about keeping adequate space between diners — there was hardly anybody there. Just a lot of staff worrying about their next paycheck.

Bret: The economic consequences are going to be devastating for people who are already living paycheck to paycheck, to say nothing of tip to tip. I don’t fear a recession. I fear a full-scale depression. It is hard to overstate how bad this could get if it goes on for months. Andrew Yang’s suggestion of a universal basic income is suddenly looking extremely smart and potentially essential.