Covid-19
Two data- and research-driven stories about preventing the spread of coronavirus stood out for me this week:
Our efforts to scrub and re-scrub every surface are overkill — and may even be giving us a false sense of security. (The Atlantic, ~7 min.)
Why on earth isn’t indoor ventilation part of our mitigation strategy? Why aren’t the CDC and top public health officials talking about it? Why aren’t government officials talking about it? (The Atlantic, ~20 min.)
Nobody was tracking the hundreds of deaths among America’s healthcare workers from coronavirus. So Claire Rezba, an anesthesiologist in Virginia, decided she would do it herself. (ProPublica, ~22 min.)
The state of child care in America was atrocious before the pandemic. That it’s not a bigger part of the recovery conversation is egregious, and the inattention will be felt for decades. (Politico Magazine, ~17 min.)
Of course there’s a hit board game called Pandemic, and of course it’s a favorite of docs on the front lines. (New Yorker, ~8 min.)
(Gentl and Hyers, The Cut)
On pandemic bread baking and the search for ... wait, what were we searching for, exactly? And did we find it? (The Cut, ~11 min.)
Millions of American immigrants don’t speak English well, if at all — which means there’s no easy way for them to get the latest, most comprehensive info about coronavirus. The lack of info can be deadly. (New Humanitarian, ~8 min.)
After the economy shut down in March, a major Wisconsin paper mill ultimately was forced to close. The ripple effects of that single mill’s closure are hard to wrap your head around. (Washington Post, ~13 min.)
In the age of coronavirus, what does it mean to be a hero? (New Statesman, ~12 min.)
Race, policing & Black Lives Matter protests
In case you missed it, John Lewis’ last essay, printed in the New York Times on the day of his funeral. (New York Times Opinion, ~4 min.)
“John Lewis’ final fights”: a moving tribute to the civil rights icon from Wesley Lowery. (GQ, ~14 min.)
A night at the Portland protests told in three acts, from late afternoon through the wee hours of the morning. (Willamette Week, ~14 min.)
Most of us are familiar with America’s shameful history of redlining. But our federal government’s equally shameful history of razing Black neighborhoods to make way for urban renewal projects? Not so much. (Boston Review, ~20 min.)
“We talked to the Sons of Confederate Veterans about why they’re defending racist monuments.” (Vice News, ~9 min.)
In the Grays Ferry neighborhood of South Philadelphia, cancers of all kinds have ravaged Black families for decades. So they banded together to fight the local oil refinery they knew to be the culprit. (New York Times Magazine, ~32 min.)
Michael Brown’s death at the hands of Ferguson, Mo., police in 2014 spurred the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement. Six years later, his mom is still fighting for justice for her son. (Intelligencer, ~7 min.)
Meet Daniel Smith, an 88-year-old Virginia man with the rarest of historical origins — he’s the living son of a slave. (Washington Post, ~5 min.)
The best of the rest
(Toronto Life)
Inside Canada mom Sandra Simpson’s incredible mission to open her home to orphans from all over the world. (Toronto Life, ~25 min.)
(Gabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle)
Theo is 7 and homeless, and lives with his mom on the streets of Berkeley, Calif. City officials, local residents, and even his dad are powerless to help. (San Francisco Chronicle, ~24 min.)
Fungie the dolphin is a legend, having lived alone, but in contact with humans, off the coast of Ireland for 36 years and counting. (Hakai Magazine, ~17 min.)
Journalists frequently praise Trump for changing his “tone,” and sounding more presidential. But their praise hasn’t aged well. (Media Matters, ~3 min.)
If you read one thing this week
A thoughtful, pointed call for the media — and frankly, all of us — to be better when Kanye and other public figures exhibit signs and symptoms of mental illness. (BuzzFeed News, ~12 min.)
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Thanks for reading.
Kirsten