The strange rise of meat allergies (The New York Times)
by Moises Velasquez-Manoff
The combination of a tick bite and a hamburger lunch can set off a massive immune-system reaction. Meat allergies are a weird exception to many of the rules of food allergies, and the fact that they’re on the rise seems to involve changes in our environment and our guts.

Misremembering the fall of Joe McCarthy (Slate)
by Rebecca Onion
Remember how Army counsel Joseph Welch brought down the McCarthyist witch-hunts with one famous line? That’s not quite how it happened, and the difference between myth and reality tells us something about how political bullies rely on reluctant allies.

Young Americans don’t want to run the world (The Conversation)
by Bruce Jentleson
American exceptionalism and world leadership have been articles of faith in this country for generations. But Millennials look at these things a lot differently than their elders do.

The on-staff doctors of the earliest railroad (Atlas Obscura)
by Sarah Laskow
In the nineteenth century, one out of every 117 railroad workers died on the job. It was so dangerous that companies developed the new job of “railway surgeon.”

Diligence and good sex (The Cut)
by Cari Romm
What “big five” personality trait is most associated with a good sex life? Extraversion or openness to experience might sound like good candidates, but a new study finds the answer is… conscientiousness.

Got a hot tip about a well-researched story that belongs on this list? Email us here.