1. The Loneliness of Donald Trump
“Once upon a time, a child was born into wealth and wanted for nothing, but he was possessed by bottomless, endless, grating, grasping wanting, and wanted more, and got it, and more after that, and always more.” Rebecca Solnit’s latest hits the mark, again.
2. It’s Almost Like Translating: Telling LGBTQ Stories on the Religion Beat
In our latest audio episode, online editor Catherine Woodiwiss sits down with Eliel Cruz — writer and organizer on religion and LGBTQ identities — to chat translating theology for nonreligious audiences, and where to look for the next big LGBTQ-religion stories.
3. How We Talk About Missing Children
From “milk carton kids” to National Missing Children’s Day, whom do we remember? And who are the missing children of our generation?
4. The Case for Less Solidarity
“The phrase 'empathy deficit' has gained a foothold, appearing everywhere from academic journals to mainstream media outlets. ...But empathy-building efforts don’t always work. They can even backfire in some cases: when people take the perspective of someone they think will act selfishly, they act more selfishly themselves. If empathy deficits fuel social divisions, why doesn’t empathy building salve them?”
5. Climate Change Is Keeping Americans Awake at Night. Literally.
Researchers calculated that every nocturnal temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius produced an additional three nights of restless sleep per 100 people per month.
6. It's Been 96 Years Since White Mobs Destroyed Tulsa's Black Wall Street
The Oklahoma city's Greenwood neighborhood was one of the country's most affluent black neighborhoods until racists decimated it and killed hundreds of residents.
7. Russia on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
“In Russia, the opposition will not stand in opposition. Citizens will not stand up for civic rights. The Russian people suffer from a victim complex: they believe that nothing depends on them, and by them nothing can be changed.”
8. Taliban Target: Scholars of Islam
“The reason the Taliban resort to such acts is that they want to make sure their legitimacy is not questioned by the sermons of these ulema...only they can challenge the Taliban’s ideology, not the liberal scholars or others, and the Taliban understand that.”
9. At His Own Wake, Celebrating Life and the Gift of Death
A gorgeous eulogy to life, love, and dying well, as told through the eyes of dying man John Shields and his family.
10. Misspellings, Mapped: America The How-Do-You-Spell-Beautiful?
For National Spelling Bee week, Google mapped, state by state, the words people most often search “how to spell.” Spoiler: Rhode Island is fascinated by the spelling of “liar,” South Dakota, by “college,” and Wisconsin...well, by “Wisconsin.”
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