The many voices of North Carolina (Atlas Obscura)
by Dan Nosowitz
Before the Civil War, there were no southern accents as we know them now. Southern linguistic diversity bloomed in the decades that followed, and some of it is still sticking around in North Carolina—for now.

Is it Brexit time yet? (The Conversation)
by Laura Hood
Boris Johnson’s victory in the UK elections seems to set the stage for Brexit to finally happen. But how will it actually happen? And what will the historic election mean for Scotland, the Labour Party, and the nation’s electoral landscape?

The oldest known art is pretty weird (NPR)
by Merrit Kennedy
Newly analyzed cave paintings in Indonesia are the oldest figurative art ever found, and its subjects suggest some interesting things about the people who created it.

Lavish praise for modesty (Aeon)
by Nicolas Bommarito
The word “modesty” might suggest politely self-effacing words or somewhat prudish clothes. But a philosopher argues that it’s really a virtue we should associate with freedom from distressing self-centeredness.

The messy anatomy of a war (The Washington Post)
by Elizabeth N. Saunders
A trove of interviews with important players reveals uncomfortable truths about the US war in Afghanistan, like how little leaders actually knew about what they were doing and why.

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