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LSU beat the University of Iowa's women's basketball team last weekend to earn its first NCAA championship title in a record-breaking, triple-digit-scoring game. But that's not what fans were talking about all week. Instead, a storm of internet debate ensued over LSU player Angel Reese's use of a hand gesture to taunt Iowa's Caitlin Clark during the game. The criticism of Reese, who is Black, revealed a racist double standard.
U.S. sales of super-efficient heat pumps are rising, as many tout them as a key climate solution. Think of the machine as an air conditioner that can work backwards: It uses a refrigerant to cool air on hot days but can also absorb bits of heat from the outdoors to warm your home. Before you hurry out to buy one, read our guide to decide if it's the best solution for you.
Getting laid off is never fun, and it's even scarier if you're on parental or medical leave when it happens. Unfortunately, it's legal for companies to lay off an employee in the middle of leave as long as it doesn't use the leave as the reason for letting them go. 🎧 Newly laid-off employees give their advice on how to cope.
This past Friday, Samantha Casiano held a funeral for her daughter Halo, who was born two months early and lived just four hours. Halo had a congenital disability called anencephaly and could never survive. Still, Casiano had to give birth because Texas abortion laws do not have an exception for fetal anomalies. After her experience, she says, she won't get pregnant again for fear of reliving the experience. |
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Donald Iain Smith; Usman Kawazoe |
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| It's Been A Minute: Brittany Luse wants to give you new ways to think about the things everyone's talking about, beyond the obvious takes. Civics 101, from NHPR: Haven't been in a social studies class in a while? Here's a refresher course on how our democracy works. Detours, from WGBH and PRX: Adam Monahan, longtime producer of Antiques Roadshow, reveals what happens to all the stuff on the show after the cameras leave town. 🎧 Arnold Shapiro is responsible for putting Peanuts cartoons on Hallmark greeting cards. This week, hear about Arnold's 12-year relationship with Peanuts creator Charles Schultz and follow the journey of his comic strip collection from six-figure TV appraisal to a permanent home at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. |
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A good weekend to you, after a week in which a former president was indicted. No one in America is above the law. But also, the Tennessee legislature expelled two elected state reps for protesting for gun control on the House floor.
Both reminded me of a recent effort by David Miliband. He's the former U.K. foreign secretary, now head of the International Rescue Community as well as a separate working group that judges progress not just by democracy but accountability, which has produced a world Atlas of Impunity. We asked him:
Q: How does accountability differ from democracy?
A: Democracy is one (strong) form of accountability. But democracy is no guarantee. Human rights are undermined in some democratic societies. Do we need to see a strengthening of democracy? Yes. But is that enough? No.
Q: Where do you see that today?
A: The impunity we have seen in Ukraine, from the invasion to rampant violations of international humanitarian law, is part of a broader global trend. Twice as many aid workers have been killed in the last decade as in the one before that. Civilians now account for 84% of war casualties. Democracy is in retreat, with governments suborning the judiciary and intimidating the media. Look at the climate crisis through impunity: The current generation is able to override the interests of future generations because future generations have no say.
Q: The U.S. scores better on your index than Russia or China. But it’s still No. 118 out of 163 countries. Where do we fall short?
A: Racial discrimination, economic inequality, and democratic access. The purpose of the Atlas is to offer to people the chance to see how their country performs and to argue for change. |
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This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. |
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