It’s late Sunday night. I just got back from a weekend in Minneapolis with some of my best friends. I’m wearing a hoodie, and I’ve got a glass of whiskey. Not all is well with the world, but this moment ain’t so bad.
I hope you find a moment in your life this week that gives you exactly what you need. And I hope these stories give you something to think about that makes your life a little bit better.
Death by noise
We know about gas pollution, litter, smog and even light pollution. But what about noise pollution? Isn’t noise just a thing that exists — a kind of constant background with no serious effects? Turns out, noise pollution is a potential crisis with deadly consequences.
The presence of noise — from the high-pitched screech of brakes outside a window, to the low rumble of a subwoofer or even the ever-present hum of electricity — can lead to increased blood pressure, anxiety and depression. As a society, we’ve essentially given up on fighting for the right to silence.
I extremely relate. If you see Maddie around, ask her how I handled it when one of the fire sprinklers attached to our ceiling developed a subtle, inexplicable rattle that I could do nothing to stop, as our ceilings are 13 feet tall. (Note: I did not handle it well.)
After reading this, I feel much more justified about the recent conversation I had with our new upstairs neighbor about his super cool sound system.
Get a dog, live longer
You guys clicked the hell out of that link about the zoomies last week, so I’ll try to keep the dog-related content going. A new report found that owning a dog can be linked to longer life and a lower risk of heart problems. Go get yourself a very good girl or boy.
Thicc bears
It’s Fat Bear Week, y’all.
(This is a real thing.)
Revisiting David and Bathsheba
Perhaps you, like me, scrolled past a headline from a faith-based media outlet this week asking if David, the Old Testament king, was a rapist. And perhaps you, also like me, thought this was a pretty odd subject to bring up. Thanks to this Slate piece from Ruth Graham, I understand the context for the discussion and the importance of calling this biblical story out for what it is.
Growing up in evangelicalism has its oddities. Plenty of stories that are ghoulish in hindsight — looking at you, the flood — are taught as children’s stories. The problematic elements are completely ignored. David and Bathsheba is one of those stories. Here, Graham connects the dots between a proper reading of this O.T. tale and a healthier understanding of gender, power, sex, consent and abuse.
(As an aside, the debate around this story is a great example of what a female-first hermeneutic can reveal. Read more women theologians!)
America’s most prolific killer
I know some of you guys are crime junkies (not my thing, but you do you!). So, I figure this one will be of interest to a decent portion of subscribers: The FBI believes it has America’s most prolific serial killer in custody.
Mayors going green
If countries won’t step up to the plate with responsible climate policy, cities will have to do it themselves.
As several nations with the largest carbon footprints take steps to actively harm the environment, mayors of the world’s 94 largest cities have convened to establish resolutions aimed at staving off the most devastating effects of our warming planet. Mayors may seem like small fish compared to presidents, but these cities account for a quarter of the entire global economy. Their policies have an outsized impact, and their actions can lend much-needed momentum to overdue policy goals.
‘Inside the fire’
When I wake up, I know how my day is going to go. There could be outliers, sure. An unexpected issue at work, or maybe even a car repair that throws this month’s saving goal in the trash. But, generally, I know what’s going to happen. I have an expectation of structure and consistency. You can probably relate.
This is not normal. In the global scope, order is an outlier. The basic structure of American society is one of the least-appreciated graces many of us are afforded on a daily basis.
That’s what I couldn’t stop thinking about when I read this oral history of the war in Afghanistan. I was struck by the utter despair of the people who never asked to be involved but have been caught up in the whims of violent and power-hungry political despots. That despair manifests in the casualties of war, but also in the terror of everyday life when order, structure and expectation are obliterated like a small village hit with a missile. Waking up everyday and wondering, is it my day to die? is no way to live.
Sometimes the world is unbearably cruel. Everyday that it is not cruel to you is a reason to say thanks.
Overworked
We’re working too much. In part because it takes much more to live the “American Dream” than it used to and in part because our society idealizes hustle culture, Americans are working longer, less predictable hours than ever before. The consequences could be devastating to the parts of life that matter much more than work.
Bonk
This falls outside the scope of a typical No Trump Newsletter link, but I haven’t stopped giggling about this since I saw it. Here’s one of the Morris twins (I don’t really care enough to figure out which one it is) deciding he needed some personal space during an NBA preseason game.
We’re losing dinner, and what that means may be bigger than you think
If you took everything I love in a report, threw it in a blender and then poured it out, the result would be this story. It takes something seemingly simple — dinner — and examines its history through a conceptual lens while also dissecting what the decline of this hallowed institution says about American society today. The kicker is so succinct and intelligent I read it three times.
That’s all for this week. My favorite of the bunch is probably the last one. It’s an eloquent articulation of a uniquely millennial issue.
While “millennial” is often used as a general substitute for “young person” (usually when someone wants to say something negative), we’re now the generation in our prime earning years. We’re 20- and 30-something professionals working hard and navigating life. The social, economic and political situation we’re doing it in is unprecedented. I’m a big fan of anything that gives voices to this experience.
Thanks friends,
Kyle