The Afghanistan Disaster And Why It Happened; Heat Is Killing More U.S. Workers; Best New Sci-Fi And Fantasy

Plus, a new climate report offers a side of hope with its gloom

View this email online by Christopher Dean Hopkins Stories You May Have Missed Rahmat Gul/AP Two decades of U.S. war in Afghanistan are coming to a swift and chaotic end — one that has been made more calamitous by foolish government decisions. A watchdog report says the U.S. goals there were often "operationally impractical or conceptually incoherent," and ignored the facts on the ground. Now the Taliban's is in control again — a shift that has long-lasting implications for regional stability and U.S. national security. Here's what things look like on the ground, and a timeline of how things got to this point. If you got the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, you'll likely need to go get a third shot in the coming months. Officials say that those vaccinations are still effective, but that the move will help the U.S. healthcare system stay ahead of the virus. Here's who should get it first, and the potential drawbacks of the government's plan. The climate is getting hotter, which is putting those who do their jobs outside in the U.S. — farmworkers, construction workers, trash collectors, tree trimmers — in more danger. Heat-related worker deaths have doubled in the past 30 years, but there are no federal regulations for preventing them, and the fines afterward are rarely more than $10,000. The earthquake this month in Haiti was the country's second big, deadly shake in a dozen years. Geologists say that's because a major fault line runs straight through Port-au-Prince — but because it hadn't had a major slip in 200 years, Haitian's homes are designed to withstand hurricanes, not earthquakes. Here's how you can help those caught in this disaster. These past 10 years have brought dramatic change to science fiction and fantasy, and NPR's readers helped celebrate the rush of new voices, new perspectives, new styles, by highlighting 50 great recent titles. We also went back and made some much-needed additions to the all-time list we made a decade ago. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Podcasts of the Week Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images The most urgent audio storytelling that NPR produced this week came not from a podcast, but from the voices of individual Afghans. Listen to their stories: The former U.S. Army interpreter who's desperate for help The artist continuing to paint through his anxiety The women's group leader who refuses to leave those for whom she's responsible. The doctor who fled after a Taliban member warned they were coming for her The Taliban spokesman who swears it will be different this time The journalist who feels hopeless, and doubts Taliban leadership can control local fighters Here are the best ways you can help Afghans who've escaped. On its surface, a recent U.N. climate report is more of the same cataclysmic predictions, but it also contained some surprisingly hopeful notes — including several scenarios for getting warming under control before the worst effects are felt. (Shortwave)   Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy