Good morning!
Welcome to Issue 52.3 of Digestable, your thrice-weekly mouthful of real things happening in the world, minus alarmist pandemic news.
Today’s news, fermented:
Friday!
Some climate news for weekend reading: Biden Is Too Worried About the Deficit, Not Worried Enough About Climate Change, and What John Oliver missed about plastics. Non-men critiquing the climate action and narrative of men? Who says no!
Here’s a strange underwater friend.
(via)
Caro's Advice Corner
If ya want the advice, you gotta ask for it! Send those qs over to carosadvicecorner@gmail.com.
DJ M0RO’s low-key Music Show
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom - it’s Passover, and this time last year I was celebrating in rural Alabama with a bunch of Christians, many of whom had never met a Jew. I was prompted to explain why this holiday matters right now - why I choose to celebrate it and continue to find meaning in it. That process brought newfound understanding, and the more I think about freedom, the less I think I know about it.
It’s not like there are tons of great Passover songs, other than the Prince of Egypt soundtrack which really is a gem. But here are two songs that have been giving me the kind of emotional liberty only good music can unlock, continually teaching me how art and freedom are intertwined:
Amethyst Kiah’s new release of her breakout song Black Myself might sound familiar if you’ve listened to Songs of Our Native Daughters. It’s a totally elevated vibe and I’ve been so appreciating how this song feels in my ears and my soul. The music video is stunning, too.
There’s nothing like the perfect transition song, the one you turn on when you’re going on a drive, or walking to the park, or watching the sunset. I’ve listened to Durand Jones & the Indications Cruisin' To The Parque in all of these contexts and it really holds up. This version features Y La Bamba and proves collaboration makes everything better. A lovely remix all around.
**featured pod** this week is a pre-pan episode from NPR’s Science Friday highlighting the "What Is A Flame?" challenge that actor and science communicator Alan Alda hosts. The premise is that when Alda was 11, he asked his teacher what is a flame, and wasn’t satisfied with the jargony answer. So now he hosts a competition where scientists try to explain fire to young people. Stick around for the second half when they really dive into the nuance of why this challenge is so unassuming and tricky.
Access to science knowledge is something that can be a sort of freedom, and this whole idea has just really stuck in my brain since I learned about it, so I’m sharing it with you now. Maybe it will bring you, too, a moment of pause to wonder aloud how knowing things about the world is such a power and a privilege.
*Hot Goss*
Back next week from the superb Latifah Azlan, whose BIRTHDAY was YESTERDAY! O Goss Queen, how lucky we are that you are here on this earth.