Those big, soft chairs are breaking our backs

So we found three tricks to help you sit properly in a land of bad seats.

MV Arpeggio crew/Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka A young castaway survived 49 days in the Pacific The 19-year-old had been living aboard a floating hut off Indonesia with supplies meant to last a week when it became unmoored in July. He did not have any way to steer or power the raft and was left to the mercy of the sea. He was finally rescued when he somehow managed to get his walkie-talkie to a frequency that a passing ship was using. Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images The cautionary tale of Cornell researcher Brian Wansink The head of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University had become famous for producing pithy, palatable studies that connected people's eating habits with cues from their environment, and his work was often cited by national news outlets, including NPR.  But after allegations of research misconduct were made, Cornell reported that he had not kept original data and that the university could no longer vouch for the validity of his studies. Erin Brethauer for NPR How to keep your spine straight while sitting down For most of Western history, we sat in chairs that were relatively firm and proportioned for the human body. Then new materials that emerged in the 20th century had designers playing with chairs in ways that ended up hurting our backs. Don't rush out to replace your chairs. Instead, Jean Couch, who is part of a movement to teach people how to move and sit as our ancestors did, offers three tricks for getting the right alignment. Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images The son of a KKK grand wizard renounces white nationalism Derek Black was the heir apparent to his father’s work, which included creating the website Stormfront and re-branding white supremacy. Black grew up giving speeches and hosting a radio show to spread those beliefs. Then he went to college and began to question that point of view. “I said things that tried to energize racist ideas and get people to be more explicit about it. And then people who listened to that and who believed it, some of them committed horrible, violent acts. And what is my culpability and responsibility for how these things went out into the world and they continue to bounce around in the world, and I can't take them back?” His "awakening" is the subject of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow's new book, Rising Out Of Hatred. Tom Williams/Getty Images What's next for the Kavanaugh nomination  If you somehow missed it, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her while they were in high school, testified Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. NPR’s Ron Elving called Kavanaugh’s defiant testimony “the latest in a list of Capitol Hill norms to be lost in the era of President Trump.” The next day, the panel voted along party lines to recommend the judge’s nomination to the full Senate, but Republican leaders agreed to a delay to give the FBI one week to investigate the allegations (two other women came forward ahead of the hearing but did not testify before the committee). The White House has agreed to a limited “supplemental investigation.” The new deadline for a Kavanaugh vote is Oct. 5. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002