How climate change batters culture landmarks

Plus, remembering Flo-Jo.

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen and Carol Ritchie September 24, 2023 Good morning. This week, a Marine Corps fighter jet was lost and then found; the government started mailing free COVID tests again; and the Senate relaxed its dress code, getting Republicans all wound up.   Best of NPR It's sometimes hard for me to wrap my mind around just how much climate change affects our lives. Diving into the data and numbers can often leave me confused. But when climate-related weather threatens places with cultural significance, climate change's impact feels much closer to home.  Matthew Simmons/Getty Images That's why NPR's Chloe Veltman is covering the connection between climate change and heritage. Her special series, Protecting Cultural Heritage in a Warming World, looks at communities threatened by wildfire, sea level rise and more. She says she wanted to explore both urban and indigenous communities. "Cultural heritage isn't just old buildings with plaques on them — it's ways of life," she says. Take a look at the many ways the shifting climate has changed our world:  🚣‍♀️ The canals that carry Venice's famous gondolas are putting the city at risk. UNESCO says Italian authorities aren't doing enough to protect the city's historic buildings from sea level rise, extreme weather and overtourism. 🏢 In San Francisco, officials are considering raising the landmark Ferry Building by 7 feet to protect the city's waterfront from the sea. 🔥 The Oak Fire that burned in California last summer devastated the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation. They're fighting to keep their traditions — like cultural burning — alive. 🐎 Paramount Ranch has been on the silver screen for almost a century in shows like Klondike Annie and Westworld. After the 2018 Woolsey Fire incinerated most structures, workers must decide what to save and what to let go as they rebuild. Want more of Chloe's coverage? Keep an eye out for a bonus installment in the series during NPR's Climate Solutions Week, starting Oct. 2.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message The Week That Was Tony Duffy/Allsport/Getty Images Olympic gold medalist Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith Joyner died 25 years ago, on Sept. 21, 1998. Known for her style — long painted nails and colorful one-legged running suits — Flo-Jo was also celebrated for being the fastest woman to run the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Her world records for those events remain unbroken today. Ozempic, the injectable drug approved for Type 2 diabetes, has taken the world by storm as people use it — without FDA approval — for weight loss. But as Ozempic use grows, so do reports of anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts while taking it. Now regulators are asking: Are the problems a coincidence or a side effect of the drug? After 18 years of living with Alzheimer's disease, Marti Kaye spends most of her time in a wheelchair, expressionless. That changes the minute her son Adam Kaye starts playing his guitar. Watch their sweet connection as Marti whistles along as Adam plays her old favorites. Podcast Picks TUMEGGY/Getty Images/Science Photo Library Short Wave: With a little creativity and humor, science can be for everyone. Hear studies of new discoveries and everyday mysteries  — all in about 10 minutes. 🎧 Researchers estimate 60% of women and 10% of men will get a urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime. Many people think getting a UTI is their fault, but new research indicates chronic recurring UTIs might be related to changes in bladder cells. ¿Quién Are We? from Colorado Public Radio: What does it mean to be Latino? Hispanic? Chicana? Host May Ortega shares stories about the beautiful things that make up our identities. 🎧 Victor Sosa has always loved plants. Here's how he turned his passion into a business and made houseplants accessible to his community in a whole new way. Planet Money: Give the Planet Money team any story, and they can tie it back to the economy, then help you understand how it affects the world.  🎧 Delve into a digital true-crime story in this episode with guest Erin Plante. She's a private detective who specializes in chasing down stolen cryptocurrency. In 2022, she investigated the biggest crypto heist in history. A Free Press That's Actually Free As we approach an important election year, your financial support is crucial in upholding independent journalism. Your gift backs in-depth reporting, unbiased coverage, and journalism that holds those in power accountable. You've also got the backs of people who need access to quality information, but can't afford to pay past the paywalls imposed by other trustworthy media sources.  Grassroots support is the cornerstone of public radio because it is powerful. From $5 to $500, every dollar makes a difference.  It takes all of us. Help today.  Donate Now Scott's Thoughts Mikhail Metzel /Pool/AFP via Getty Images What do you get that special someone? When North Korea’s Kim Jong Un recently left Russia, he was given several drones and body armor, “with protection zones for the chest, shoulders, throat and groin,” according to TASS, the Russian state news agency. This act of Russian largesse inspired me to ask our friends in NPR’s research and development to find previous gifts between heads of state.   🐘 In 802, Harun al-Rashid, Caliph of Abbasid, gave Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne an elephant. I wonder if Charlemagne said thanks, then wondered, “How do I feed him?” 🧀 In 1512, Venice sent 50 blocks of cheese to the Sultan of Egypt. Before there were Triscuits?   🏓 The huge carved desk made from timbers of the HMS Resolute that is still used by U.S. presidents was given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by Queen Victoria in 1880. But in 2012, British P.M. David Cameron gave President Obama a Dunlop ping-pong table.    Dunlop is a British company. So are Bentley automobiles. Might the Obamas have preferred a gift from the car company to a ping-pong table? But those pesky U.S. ethics laws!   🚙 President Nixon knew Leonid Brezhnev was a car enthusiast. And so, at a summit meeting, he gave the Soviet premier a 1973 blue Lincoln Continental, replete with custom black velour seats. Russian heads of state don’t have to fret about ethics laws.   🗽 But in the annals of official gifts, it is hard to top what the French people gave the U.S. in 1886: the Statue of Liberty. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). 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 Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. 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