A former staffer’s charge that Mr. Biden sexually assaulted her in the mid-’90s seemed to gain some corroboration this week, forcing Democrats to grapple with questions of double standards and what constitutes a fair hearing.  

The coronavirus has hit black communities disproportionately hard. Understanding why can help improve health care for minorities going forward.

Amid lockdowns, which services are considered crucial? Depending on where you are, the answers range from supermarkets to golf. But some open stores share a common sentiment: pride in providing for their neighbors.

Brave health care workers, strong family bonds, a flood of support and prayer from friends around the world: Our correspondent, Peter Ford, shares how all helped him heal. 

When looking for films to transport you during lockdown, start with those by Indian auteur Satyajit Ray. “No other director has so consistently expressed what it means to be alive,” says film critic Peter Rainer. “No other filmmaker, male or female, has explored with such profound grace and understanding the inner lives of women.”

Right now around the world one of the largest creative exercises of the 21st century is taking place: Thousands of political leaders are deciding when to reopen their economies as the COVID-19 threat fades. To balance the difficult trade-offs in ending a lockdown, they must challenge old ways of thinking and invent new approaches.

But they are not alone. In their isolation at home, families are shedding habits and learning to solve problems posed by the pandemic. With classrooms closed, schools are testing their assumptions about how students learn.

Retailers are trying new ways to keep customers. With their workers returning soon, manufacturers are experimenting with new workplace techniques and supply chains for a post-pandemic world. In the rush to invent a vaccine, thousands of researchers are breaking new ground in scientific thinking.

The coronavirus may have weakened much of society. But the great weakening has stirred a great awakening. People are digging deeper for inspiration and breaking mental chains. Trends like digitization and online learning have been fast-forwarded.

Peter Coleman, a Columbia University professor who studies the impact of societal shocks, writes that people coming out of a major crisis “are more open and their thinking is more flexible than it was before.” They listen to alternative ideas and discard old realities. Over many shocks, they can attain an irreversible innovation in thought.

They also see the utility of unity where once they reveled in playing up differences with others.

“The extraordinary shock to our system that the coronavirus pandemic is bringing has the potential to break America out of the 50-plus year pattern of escalating political and cultural polarization we have been trapped in, and help us to change course toward greater national solidarity and functionality,” Dr. Coleman writes. “The time for change is clearly ripening.”

Even in the midst of the crisis, it is time to celebrate the shift toward creativity and unity.

One example is “The Call to Unite,” a 24-hour global streamathon that starts May 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The event has pulled together dozens of global leaders and celebrities to reflect on the long-term meaning of the crisis. The goal: “to help you turn the pain of this moment into possibility for tomorrow ... and inspire you to pay it forward.”

Much of daily life – shopping, working, worshipping, governing – has been turned inside out but also has been given an overdue review. The exercise in fresh thinking, while unwelcome at first, could be here to last. Parts of life may eventually return to the prior normal. The ability to envision a new life may not.

View gallery