The week of June 25, 2016 was being way glad we don’t commute in DC; being way gladder we are not thiscouple; learning that professional cuddlers are a thing; and being gladdest of all that mom hair is awesome.

Plus: Do you have the range? We have the range. And! The (American) Idiot’s Guide to the Brexit.

Mash-Ups in the News

Abigail Fisher, aka Becky With the Bad Grades, Loses Her Fight Against Affirmative Action

Oh guys, this article refers to her as the “Oscar Mayer turkey bacon of average white women.” It’s a pretty genius take.

via Very Smart Brothas

Get to Know John Lewis

John Lewis launched a historic sit-in this week in Congress, rallying Democrats to fight for gun control. But he’s no stranger to sit-ins. The legendary civil rights activist, a son of sharecroppers, was one of the Big Six leaders of the movement. We’ll sit with you anytime, John.

via Vox

How Subarus Came to be Seen as Cars for Lesbians

Always interesting to think about how to strategically build a focused (and surprising) audience for a brand over time. There are so many gems in here, but this description of Japanese businessmen looking up the word gay — “upon reading the definition, they nodded at the idea enthusiastically. Who wouldn’t want happy or joyous advertising?” — really is a great Mash-Up business moment.

 via The Atlantic

Apartheid, in Pictures

These dramatic aerial photos of cities in South Africa show the way architecture and space were used to implement the divisions and segregation of apartheid. They also show how those separate spaces still exist more than 20 years later.

 via Guardian

The Trouble With Hiring According to “Merit”

Countless studies show the benefits to organizations of having a diverse workforce. And, being Americans, we can all agree that being rewarded / hired / accepted based on merit is ideal. Except that merit turns out to be really subjective. Studies show that sometimes you think you’re judging pure talent but you are really only hiring extroverted white males who have a specific kind of “polish.”

 via Harvard Business Review

Syrian Refugee Finds Home in Spain

Remember that Syrian refugee who was tripped by the Hungarian photographer as he tried to escape? His name is Osama Abdul Mohsen and he and his kids are settled in their new life in Spain where he works with soccer teams. We dare you not to cry.

via The Atlantic

Constance Wu Doesn’t Want to Be Your It Girl

Love hearing from the gorgeous and talented Constance Wu on growing into her role as a leading lady (who is Asian) in Hollywood.

 via New York Magazine

Black, Gay and Southern in the Kitchen

That’s a lot of things to mash up in the kitchen! The author, Michael Twitty, dives deep into the history of Black food in America — and what it means to be a gay, Black man cooking it today.

 via Food 52

Aziz Ansari: Why Trump Makes Me Scared for My Family

Right after the massacre in Orlando, as he mourned the loss of so many innocent lives, Aziz frantically called his mom to tell her not to go the mosque to pray. He was terrified she would become a target. In this essay Aziz talks about the fear he lives with as a Muslim-American in this day and age and about representing his tribe.

 via NY Times

Sonia Sotomayor’s Epic Dissent Against Gutting the Fourth Amendment

”By legitimizing the conduct that produces this double consciousness, this case tells everyone, white and black, guilty and innocent, that an officer can verify your legal status at any time. It says that your body is subject to invasion while courts excuse the violation of your rights. It implies that you are not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged. We must not pretend that the countless people who are routinely targeted by police are ‘isolated.’ They are the canaries in the coal mine whose deaths, civil and literal, warn us that no one can breathe in this atmosphere. They are the ones who recognize that unlawful police stops corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives. Until their voices matter too, our justice system will continue to be anything but.” Go Tia Sonia!

via The Nation