1. Pizzagate: Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal
Rolling Stone and Reveal investigate the confluence of Russian operatives, Twitter bots, conspiracy theorists, and Trump campaigners that manufactured the 'news' that Hillary Clinton ran a pizza-restaurant child-sex ring.
2. Can My Children Be Friends With White People?
From New York Times: “When they ask, I will teach my sons that their beautiful hue is a fault line. Spare me platitudes of how we are all the same on the inside. I first have to keep my boys safe, and so I will teach them before the world shows them this particular brand of rending, violent, often fatal betrayal.”
3. Lawmakers Intent on Tackling Sexual Harassment on the Hill
The deluge of harassment stories has made its way to Capitol Hill — and Rep. Jackie Speier and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are trying to do something about it.
4. Inside the Race to Build a Better Brain — and Outpace Evolution
“If he ever does make a neuroprosthesis to revolutionize how we use our brain, which superpower would he give us first? … He answers without hesitation. Because our thinking is so constrained by the familiar, he says, we can’t imagine a new world that isn’t just another version of the world we know. But we have to imagine something far better than that. So he’d try to make us more creative—that would put a new frame on everything.”
5. Why Didn’t We Hear About Jason Pero?
Last week, a 14-year-old Native American boy was shot and killed by police. Kaitlin Curtice addresses the lack of news around his death.
6. D.C.’s New Bible Museum Says It Wants to Avoid Politics. But Its Opening Gala Is at the Trump Hotel
Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein looks into the decision: Officials at the nonprofit museum say the decision was for pragmatic, scheduling reasons.
7. How an American Ex-Jihadi Struggled to Rebuild His Life in the Country He’d Once Vowed to Destroy
In The New Republic, Tiffany Stanley does a deep dive into the life of Jesse Orton, who has been lifted up as the poster boy for the work of countering violent extremism: “Morton’s path to salvation seemed almost too good to be true. Could the transition from jihadi to patriot really be so seamless, so rapid, so complete? The answer to that question would, within months of Morton’s sudden burst of fame, become painfully clear. The answer was no.”
8. What Do Pope Francis’ Statements on Nukes Mean for Catholics in the Military?
If the possession of nuclear weapons is to be “firmly condemned,” are those who maintain that armament morally culpable?
9. Gael García Bernal Lovingly Dedicates ‘Coco’ to Latino Children Living in Trump’s America
“We are such a complex and profound culture, and these kids need to be empowered to stand up and say that hat is being said about them is a complete lie.”
10. We Could All Use a Little ‘Wonder’
Yes. Yes, we could. Take this review with you on your way to the movies. Happy weekend.
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