How exactly do we re-emerge?

Social insights from a 17-year cicada.

As the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations continues to rise across the United States, many of us are preparing to come out of what feels like a long, lonely hibernation. We’ve been cloistered inside for more than a year now, and even as things get theoretically safer, it’s going to be a bit of an adjustment to go back out into the world. Our social graces are shot. Whether it’s weeks from now or months from now, after a gap this long, little things like making small talk, being comfortable in moderately-crowded places, and not instinctively jumping back from people who stand too close to us are going to take some time.

For help with this re-emergence, I wanted to talk to someone who has experience coming back from a very long social gap, and I knew just who to contact about it. I’ve landed an exclusive interview with Dave: a Brood X cicada who’s been living just under the surface of my yard for the last 17 years.

Thanks for being here today.

Hey, my pleasure. I’ve been waiting for this for a …