The situation around COVID-19 is evolving at an astounding rate. Thinking beyond the physical health ramifications to the mental health, anxiety, communication and sense-making aspects, our panel looks at what's going on and do their best to make sense of the rapidly shifting series of events. THE SPEAKERS– Professor Nick Enfield, Department of Linguistics– Professor Ian Hickie, Brain and Mind Centre– Dr Claire Hooker, Faculty of Medicine and Health– Professor Julie Leask, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery– Professor Agnieszka Tymula, School of Economics– Professor Annamarie Jagose (Moderator), Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesWHAT WE COVER– Why our words matter: how we talk about COVID-19 (2.30)– Past epidemics and what history teaches us (6.00)– There is value in being anxious; if we channel this productively (8.00) – Features of human behaviour: how it's playing out in the COVID-19 context (10.40)– When faced with uncertainty, ambiguity; how should we communicate this? (13.00) – Trust vs panic: navigating the complicated communication environment (19.40)– Importance and maintenance of trust and transparency in our systems (21.00)– Social media and responding to cynicism (35.50) – Final thoughts from each speaker (42.40): be aware of loss/gain frame of scenarios and the cost of opportunity; Julie's 'ABCDEF' of practical actions for people (45.00); focus on behaving collectively (47.50); use this as a chance to re-connect with each other (48.40). For more info, including a full transcript, head to the Sydney Ideas website: sydney.edu.au/sydney-ideas.