Segregation, sprawl, and carbon (NPR)
by Lauren Sommer
In some largely white, middle- or upper-class neighborhoods, recycling and avoiding plastic straws are standard. But more environmentally significant proposals to reduce sprawl and build multifamily homes near public transit are a whole different matter.

Why we stink (The Guardian)
by Ian Sample
The summer heat can make humans a bit pungent. But it’s really not our own bodies that make that BO smell. It’s a particular kind of bacteria, and, as scientists have just learned, one specific enzyme.

The dangerous practices behind the Beirut disaster (The Conversation)
by Scott Edwards and Christian Bueger
The ammonium nitrate that exploded horrifically at the Port of Beirut had been there since 2013, abandoned with the dilapidated ship that had been carrying it. The tragedy points to an international shipping system where dangerous acts often go unpoliced.

The hidden multiracial history of national parks (National Geographic)
by James Edward Mills
White people are notoriously overrepresented among visitors to U.S. national parks. Yet many Black and Native people, and other people of color, played major roles in the parks’ histories.

Our weird and messy immune systems (The Atlantic)
by Ed Yong
Our bodies’ systems for fighting infections have to be both fast-acting and flexible, able to adapt to an enormous variety of pathogens and also learn from experience. Some immune responses harm our bodies, or counteract other responses. But, taken together, they’re remarkably effective at keeping us alive.

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