With no officers charged for killing Breonna Taylor, Louisville explodes in rage
Dozens of protesters were arrested Wednesday night, as Louisville, Kentucky, exploded in rage over the grand jury decision not to charge any of the officers who shot 26-year-old Breonna Taylor to death in her own home with her killing. One former…
By Rafi Schwartz

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Spotlight: Coronavirus

Coronavirus symptoms or smoke inhalation? In California, it's really hard to tell right now
By Joseph Lamour
As we enter a new season with our not-so-new enemy, coronavirus, doctors on the front lines prepare for our regular flu season while the virus that has changed the world forever still looms large. If that weren’t enough, some medical workers have…
Here's how to focus during a pandemic, according to someone with ADHD
By Marianne Eloise
Do you think you’re likely to finish reading this entire article in one sitting? Or is it, maybe, going to be opened in a new tab to save for later, when you feel better able to focus? If that’s the case, maybe just admit that it’s going to tab…
Did coronavirus put an end to small talk?
By Tracey Anne Duncan
In the past few months, I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot less small talk cluttering my conversations. Last week, on a Zoom call with a new colleague, within three minutes we had discussed the beauty of hugging and her recent move to a place…
5 Black women imagine what true justice for Breonna Taylor would look like
By Vanessa Taylor
In March, police in Louisville, Kentucky, shot and killed 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor while she was sleeping, during an early morning raid conducted with a no-knock warrant. Since her murder, Taylor's name has echoed across the nation as…
Does catnip actually get cats "high"?
By Tracey Anne Duncan
My cat Cabbage loves catnip. I’m not the biggest fan because when she eats it, she gets really aggressive. Whatever toy she's playing with gets destroyed, even if that toy happens to be, say, my hand or another cat. The last time I gave it to her, I…
During the pandemic, my gender affirmation surgery was not considered "essential" — but it was
By Fei Lu
Since I began hormone replacement therapy two years ago, my body has changed significantly. Bimonthly estrogen injections have yielded an S-line body, softer facial features, and 34B breasts. It’s a strange feeling to go through puberty (again) at…
Could California's ban on gas-powered cars make the rest of the country follow suit?
By AJ Dellinger
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed an executive order that will ban the sale of new gas-powered cars within the state's borders. The rule, which is set to go into effect in 2035, is one of the most meaningful efforts to curb…
Astronauts are being asked to film skincare ads in space now
By Kara Weisenstein
Here’s some new-age business jargon I wager you’ve never heard before: NASA is looking to develop the “low-Earth orbit economy,” which practically means the International Space Station is now open for business. You might’ve heard that Estée Lauder…
'Kajillionaire' is Miranda July's genius take on scam culture
By Kara Weisenstein
In her best-selling essay collection Trick Mirror, the writer Jia Tolentino called scamming “the quintessential American ethos,” adding that “one of the best bids a person can make for financial safety in America is to get really good at exploiting…
Mary Trump just sued her uncle Donald for allegedly helping screw her out of her family inheritance
By Rafi Schwartz
Mary Trump, the president's niece and familial foil, has spent the past several months making herself one of her uncle Donald's most effective critics. She authored a tell-all memoir about her dysfunctional family, she's described the president as…
With Luna, Amazon has officially entered the game streaming wars
By Tebany Yune
On Thursday, Amazon announced a new game streaming service during their invite-only hardware event. Called Amazon Luna, the service will provide subscription members instant access to a library of games including selections from Ubisoft, Capcom, and…
Most new coronavirus cases are now young people. Here's why
By Joseph Lamour
The urge to party in our 20s is deep and true, and yet one wouldn’t think that it would overpower the urge to survive. However, recent data about America’s battle with COVID-19 and who it’s disproportionately infecting lately seems to prove…
Even filmmakers don't want you to go to movie theaters yet
By Kara Weisenstein
Going to the movies is one of the communal cultural experiences I miss most in pandemic times. Remember how fun it was to spontaneously pop into your neighborhood cinema and get lost in a story for a few hours with dozens of strangers? Filmmakers…
Our food system is broken and racist. Meet the farmers trying to change the way we eat
By Luke Ottenhof
Chef Njathi Wa Kabui is passionate about good food. Growing up in Kenya, his mother’s subsistence farming provided for all of the family’s food needs, while his father ran a restaurant in the city nearby. Vegetables, sugar cane, bananas, guavas, and…
In an emotional 7-minute clip, Stevie Wonder makes a stirring case for voting
By Shawn Cooke
Ever the voice of a fundamentally broken nation, Stevie Wonder released a seven-minute video statement on Wednesday, paying tribute to Breonna Taylor and conveying the enormous stakes of the moment. Titled “The Universe Is Watching Us,” Wonder makes…
The Trumps went to pay their respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and it didn't go great
By Rafi Schwartz
President Trump rarely ventures out of his hermetically sealed bubble of sycophantic approval these days, so whenever he does, those infrequent excursions into the outside world carry with them the inherent risk of the sort of unfiltered public…
For the first time, you can now watch a black hole in motion
By Tebany Yune
Last year, astronomers created the first-ever direct image of a supermassive black hole by collecting data from a network of observatories called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Since then, the team has dug into additional data from the past…
With no officers charged for killing Breonna Taylor, Louisville explodes in rage
By Rafi Schwartz
Dozens of protesters were arrested Wednesday night, as Louisville, Kentucky, exploded in rage over the grand jury decision not to charge any of the officers who shot 26-year-old Breonna Taylor to death in her own home with her killing. One former…
Keeping large animals in captivity literally damages their brains
By Bob Jacobs
Hanako, a female Asian elephant, lived in a tiny concrete enclosure at Japan’s Inokashira Park Zoo for more than 60 years, often in chains, with no stimulation. In the wild, elephants live in herds, with close family ties. Hanako was solitary for…
How death doulas are helping people process grief during the pandemic
By Tracey Anne Duncan
Like so many people, I have spent much of this pandemic grappling with grief. I’ve lost people I love, and even now, people I care about are ill. Even if you haven’t personally lost someone, you’re likely tapped into the collective sense of…
Racism has cost the U.S. $16 trillion over the past 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz
The same day that Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf issued a hasty apology for recently claiming "a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from" was to blame for the company's lack of diversity, a different banking giant released an ambitious new…
Experts predict a second wave of coronavirus this fall and winter. Here's what to expect
By Melissa Pandika
The brisk days of autumn are upon us, which means, so, too is the dreaded “second wave” of coronavirus infections, or the at the very least, we’re nearing it. The name alone sounds nothing short of ominous, but what, exactly, would a second wave of…
Kenosha victims are suing Facebook for enabling militias to "inflict extreme violence"
By AJ Dellinger
In August, police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. As citizens took to the streets to protest, far-right and white supremacist militia groups mobilized, encouraging supporters to show up armed and prepared…