Wildfires scorched millions of acres across the Western United States this past summer, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Jocksana Corona and her family were among them, after flames reached their Talent, Oregon, neighborhood. They have been living in a Girl Scout facility since then. Corona shares her Brief But Spectacular take on surviving a wildfire.

Mahogany L. Browne is a poet, author and mother. In response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville in March, Browne wrote a poem called “Apply Pressure” for Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer. Browne offers her Brief But Spectacular take on honoring Taylor.

Pediatric nurse practitioner Deborah Fisher spent her early career working in intensive care units. The experience convinced her that more needed to be done to improve end-of-life care for children. Now specializing in palliative care at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., Fisher shares her Brief But Spectacular take on an important subject that’s difficult to discuss.

How do you picture a pandemic? Photographer Philip Montgomery documented New York City funeral homes and health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis this past March. His images appeared in the New York Times Magazine, capturing the stark divide between “before COVID” and after. Montgomery shares his Brief But Spectacular take on covering the pandemic.