Celebration, humor, and mourning in a Black meme (The New York Times)
by Sandra E. Garcia
One specific style of art celebrating black lives and achievements through historical figures can be found everywhere from airbrushed T-shirts to internet memes. But different artists, and different audiences, use it for a variety of purposes.

In high schools, “patriotic education” is the default (The Washington Post)
by Matthew Nelsen
When the Trump administration released its 1776 Report, with the stated goal of restoring “patriotic education,” many academic historians scoffed. But to a large extent, the content of the report is what many U.S. high schools are already teaching.

The often-unnoticed power of speech (NPR)
by Dave Davies
When we speak, our vocal cords do some amazing tricks to convey emotion and nuances of meaning. We may not even notice it’s happening until we damage our voices—or until we start trying to teach computers to talk.

What’s behind the new COVID variants? (Vox)
by Brian Resnick
Why do so many new strains of COVID-19 seem to be popping up around the world? The virus has been mutating since it first showed up, but it’s now getting more opportunities, and more pressure, to evolve.

What we lose when we lose weak ties (The Atlantic)
by Amanda Mull
Maybe you don’t know your favorite bartender’s name, or consider that person from the apartment down the hall a friend. But the absence of these acquaintances from many of our lives during the pandemic may be taking a toll that we aren’t fully recognizing.

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