Welcome to the May issue of Vox’s The Highlight
A mysterious outbreak was spreading at Girlstown. But what was making the children sick? Plus: How we look on Zoom, considering the right age for a president, and more.
Will Staehle for Epic and Vox
In 2007 in Chalco, Mexico, a striking outbreak swept through a Catholic school known as Girlstown, which provided free schooling and board to some of the nation’s poorest girls. One by one, hundreds of students began complaining of paralysis in their legs, weakness, or visions. State and federal inspectors and epidemiologists were sent to test the environment: the food, the water, the soil. The girls prayed. An exorcist was brought in.
This month’s issue looks at the wild events in Chalco, more than a decade later. What really happened to the students of Girlstown? Was it an illness, or was something darker at play?
The story has particular poignance now because of another outbreak, one so widespread it has transformed how we live on a global scale.
Also in this month’s issue, we look at change amid the current pandemic, how it has forced some to fight hard to maintain tradition; required many to replace everyday social interactions with digital ones; and will leave some with lasting emotional scars.
On Zoom, women are grappling with a backslide in body positivity as this new world order requires video work calls even as the services on which some rely — the manicures, hair appointments, SoulCycle classes — have gone away.
The pandemic has also proven daunting for Brooklyn-based Imam Ahmed Ali Uzir as he attempts to give Muslim New Yorkers burials that follow tradition.
And finally, we look at how old a president should be, and hear from five psychologists on what getting out of quarantine might feel like — and how we should deal with the stress and fear.
Will Staehle for Epic and Vox
A mysterious outbreak. Hundreds of stricken schoolgirls. Was it an illness, or was something darker to blame?
by Daniel Hernandez
Claire Merchlinsky for Vox
Why are women bemoaning their hair, clothing choices, and more, even during a pandemic?
by Leslie Goldman
Zac Freeland/Vox
Americans are poised to elect the oldest commander in chief ever to serve. Does that matter?
by Charlotte Alter and Daniel J. Levitin
Lori Hawkins for Vox
As Covid-19 ravages families in New York, a religious leader offers comfort — and some semblance of tradition.
by Sarah Khan
Beppe Giacobbe for Vox
The coronavirus pandemic has done a number on our mental health. We asked five psychologists for advice on emerging from our homes to a changed world.
by Eleanor Cummins
Illustrations by Pete Ryan for Vox
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