A list of good reads
- Washington Post (splainer gift link) has an excellent piece on why teaching boys about male nurses and librarians is as important as teaching girls about female justices and astronauts.
- As Hello Kitty officially launches merchandise in India, Scroll asks whether the kawaii Japanese icon can assimilate into the subcontinent’s diverse art aesthetic.
- Siddhant Adlakha in Polygon decodes why India may not have an MCU of superhero films, but has learned how to market blockbusters just like Marvel.
- The Walrus has the fascinating story of the rockstar researcher—behavioural ecologist Jonathan Pruitt—who spun a web of lies and nearly got away with it.
- Smithsonian Magazine shares the history of the Ouija Board, which cannot connect us to the paranormal, but says a lot about psychology, grief, and uncertainty.
- Also in Smithsonian Magazine: the history of pedestrianism or professional walking, which was one of America’s first spectator sports.
- Archaeology Magazine has a feature on how Roman gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses through combat.
- Financial Times (splainer gift link) has a must-read on why having a nemesis or arch enemy is one of life’s greatest gifts.
- Also in Financial Times: Why more bosses need to spend time on the shop floor with workers, doing the jobs their businesses depend on.
- Brownstone Institute has a deep dive on the illusion of expertise, and how we think about intelligence in our society.
- Kyndall Cunningham in Vox writes in praise of plot-driven and mid-budget “middlebrow” movies like ‘Challengers’ and ‘Conclave’, which still have a place at the box-office.
- Aeon has an excellent essay which asks: is beauty natural? And whether Jane Austen and Charles Darwin’s views of beauty converge.
- New York Times (splainer gift link) has an interesting piece on the lip-reading hotshot of celeb gossip, Jackie G, who is going viral for decoding celebs’ private conversations.
- Chris Dong in Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) goes behind the scenes to learn how baggage handling works during travel, and why it goes wrong sometimes.
- Vogue has a delightful read on why single women are embracing the concept of ‘roster’ dating.
- BBC News reports on research that shows why coffee could be good for your health.
