What’s Behind “Adult-Onset Athleticism”? (Slate)
by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Many people who dreaded physical education as kids are surprised to find that, in adulthood, they actually enjoy moving their bodies. Youth athletics and adult wellness have moved on separate tracks for decades, influenced by everything from the Cold War to the rise of “wellness.”

Life on the Digital Farm (Sapiens)
by Robyn Cutright
Why is the gaming world awash in farming games? People come to farming simulators and imaginary rural communities for a range of complex reasons. Then again, the real history of our relationship with farms is complicated, too.

Why We’re Still Not Prepared for a Pandemic (The Atlantic)
by Ed Yong
Deaths in the US from COVID represent 16 percent of the global total, even though the country has just 4 percent of the world’s population. The effects will last for a very long time. And the flaws that allowed the virus to spread will still be here when the next pandemic shows up.

Defending the Amazon’s Defenders (The Conversation)
by David S. Salisbury
Indigenous activists are often the only thing standing between the Amazon rainforest and bulldozers, and they’re frequently under attack. Can political change help them, and the places they live, survive?

How to Program a Plant (Quanta)
by Joanna Thompson
Synthetic biologists have developed tools to “program” bacteria and other simple organic structures. Now, they’re doing the same thing with plants, telling them how to grow their roots. But living things in the real world come with complications that make them very different from silicon circuits.

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