A list of good reads
- New Yorker reveals the many ways that comic Hasan Minhaj took ‘artistic licence’ with the truth—including supposedly harrowing experiences he’s faced as an Asian American and Muslim American.
- The Observer looks at whether speaking a second language makes a person more rational, open-minded and better equipped to deal with uncertainty.
- New York Times (splainer gift link) looks at the explosion of all things ‘girl’ on the internet—be it ‘girl dinners’ or ‘hot girl walks’. It is being positioned as a reclamation of the word: “The word ‘girl’ is in diametrical opposition not to ‘boy’ but to ‘woman,’ allowing women to enjoy simple feminine pleasures without the complications that some associate with womanhood.” Whether you buy that is up to you.
- Speaking of other ‘girlie’ things. Elle explains why women ought to be more “ambitious” about friendships.
- Utpal Dutta in Incurato has a lovely essay on how Assamese director Brajen Baruah brought electricity to a village in Assam in order to shoot a film.
- Two good reads in The Atlantic: One, Angela Chen on how siblings shape each other's lives. Two, Helen Lewis on the return to retrograde discourse about a woman’s ‘body count’—i.e how many people she’s had sex with.
- TIME magazine has a very good profile on Tamil Nadu’s IT minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.
- The Conversation lays out the physiological symptoms of anxiety.
- Washington Post (splainer gift link) finds out why all celebs now have the same set of perfect teeth.
- A number of economists are raising questions about the government’s claim about India’s GDP growth rate. Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman explain why they don’t buy the 7.8% number in the Business Standard. Warning: this is super nerdy.
