Towards the start of the pandemic, Jen and I watched Cabaret, and rewatched Arrested Development, and had a renewed appreciation for Liza Minnelli, an entertainment icon whose life is one of the more exceptional to learn about, in the entertainment industry. That’s partly why I was strongly and unexpectedly moved by her appearance at the Oscars, where she seemed frail in a way we rarely see at these glossy shows, and where that frailty was acknowledged through a small, tender act of care. As the pandemic stretches on it’s hard not to be frustrated by the ease with which many — politicians and citizens alike — clamor for a “return to normal” that casually excludes the vulnerable who can’t move through the world so easily. Something about seeing this kind of support in a public setting really resonated with me, and many others, and I was happy to write about all this for the New York Times Magazine.