A list of good reads
- Neha Dixit in The Wire chronicles the life of a woman whose husband is behind bars for protesting against the citizenship laws. It is very moving and real.
- New York Times takes a closer look at the oddest team at the Olympics: Qatar—whose contingent is almost entirely made up of foreign-born athletes.
- Jake Gyllenhaal is just the latest to cheerily confess his aversion to bathing. The Cut mulls over this alarming trend of unwashed celebrities.
- Linguist Arika Okrent in Aeon explains why English language spelling is, well, just plain ridiculous.
- Atlas Obscura looks at a mysterious street snack in India—made from Bhoochakara Gadda, or Ram Kand Mool—that has botanists baffled.
- Slate has a very important read on the reason why so many women experience pain during sexual intercourse.
- Quartz offers an interesting look at the most successful condom brand in India: Manforce.
- The Atlantic has an excellent essay on the unexpected benefits of talking to strangers.
- Nautilus has a wonderful essay on the persistence of mostly-forgotten languages we learned as children—and how they shape us.
- Elle has the story of sex trafficking survivor Megan Lundstrom—whose life offers an eye-opening account of sexual exploitation in the US.
- Fast Company has a lighter piece on the 1000 things professional photographers will never take photos of. High on the list: food on my plate. Looking at you Insta people!
- The Conversation argues that we’re not really “addicted” to our smartphones. It’s just a very bad habit.
- The Guardian takes an amusing look at celebrity cooking shows—and why we really don’t need them.
- Somak Ghoshal in Mint reviews a lovely new book that recaptures the lost botanical paintings of Indian artists. Yes, photos are included.
- For something more political: Scroll takes aim at AAP’s media-averse strategy—which is inspired by the BJP playbook.
