Let’s Smudge The Week Away
| This Week In Mash-Up America |
The week of June 8, 2024 was experimenting with sober partying; glowing down; being proud of our Spam; and considering if we’re doomed. TBD.
THE MASH-UP AMERICANS:
With Pride month underway, we’re looking back at our inspiring, invigorating pod visit with Lena Waithe, who told us, “It’s important to be our complete selves. I plan on being a very out and proud person as my star continues to rise.” May we all remember to be our complete selves, no matter where we are in life.
MASH-UPS IN THE NEWS:
The 7 Grueling Months to Reclaim the Bookstore Dream a Fire Stole
THE NEW YORK TIMES
After her bookstore was virtually destroyed by a fire, Lucy Yu of Yu & Me Books had to scrape together what remained of her inventory, her funds, and her spirit. Her story’s equal parts devastating, heartwarming, and inspiring.
What Election Issues Are Americans Searching on Google?
AP NEWS
Searches for crime top the list, as well as social security and health care. There’s an interactive heat map that shows who’s doing more searching on what, where — a fascinating peek at how priorities are stacking up differently by geography.
Pack One Bag
LEMONADA
In Pack One Bag, a new documentary podcast, David Modigliani tells the story of his grandparents and their escape from Mussolini’s anti-Jewish laws. We’re in it to hear about ordinary people in extraordinary times — and, ok fine, for Stanley Tucci’s voice too.
Minnesota High School Opens First-of-Its-Kind Smudging Space for Students
CBS NEWS
Native students at Shakopee High School now have an on-campus space for the burning of sacred herbs. “It’s one further step that shows native cultures are finally being embraced after years of having to hide their true selves.” Happy tears!
Their Dream Was to Build an Organic Farm. Then Elon Musk Moved Into the Neighborhood.
TEXAS MONTHLY
Booooo. “The Tesla CEO has brought jobs to a historic community in Central Texas. Along the way, some locals say, his companies and suppliers have degraded the environment and upended a way of life.”
The Food That Makes You Gay
EATER
Is it ice cream? Whole bananas? Definitely quiche, right? Eater takes a deep dive into the origins of this fallacy, why it perpetuates today, and what it has to do with white supremacy (because of course).
Black Moonshiners Get Their Turn in the Spotlight
GARDEN & GUN
“When people think of moonshine, they probably picture Appalachian men with ZZ Top beards and overalls. Despite the rich and varied distilling traditions of Black Southerners, the record of their contributions rests mostly in family memories and community oral histories.” Until now.
A Forgotten Athlete, a Nazi Official, and the Origins of Sex Testing at the Olympics
THE NEW YORKER
One of the first high-profile people to publicly transition gender, Czech women’s track star Zdeněk Koubek made world headlines (and caught the ire of Nazis) when he underwent surgery in 1936. Over 80 years later, the panic over trans sports inclusion still persists.
A Black Teen Is Helping Save Mississippi’s Oysters
WORD IN BLACK
The youth will save us! Teenager Demi Johnson recently won a National Geographic Society award for her conservation work with Mississippi oyster reefs, which have been devastated over the last two decades.
Texas May Pay Schools to Use Curriculum Critics Call Overtly Christian
THE WASHINGTON POST
“Texas public education leaders are proposing to pay school districts to teach elementary language arts lessons that critics say disproportionately focus on Christianity.” No, no, no. Just no.
We Must Remember the Heroes of the AIDS Epidemic, Not Just the Trauma
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
And the heroes were, and are, many. One writer recounts the names and deeds — the scientific breakthroughs made, the rights won, the lives saved — of people who changed the course of history for us all.
