PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Rare White Iberian Lynx Captured on Film by Amateur Photographer (Maria)
The author writes, “An amateur photographer in southern Spain captured unprecedented images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether environmental factors could be at play as wildlife watchers reveled in the rare sighting. Ángel Hidalgo published the images on social media, describing the singular animal as the ‘white ghost of the Mediterranean forest.’”
What the US Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic (Sean)
From ProPublica: “After a bird flu outbreak tore through Midwestern barns, killing hens and spiking egg prices, the USDA didn’t investigate whether the virus was airborne. ProPublica did.”
California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields (Laura)
From Capital & Main: “In California, laborers as young as 12 can legally work in agriculture. But many of them toil in punishing and dangerous conditions, and the state is failing to ensure their health and safety, an investigation by Capital & Main has found.”
The Feds Want to Make It Illegal to Even Possess an Anarchist Zine (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Daniel Sanchez is facing federal charges for what free speech advocates say is a clear attack on the First Amendment.”
As the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Ends, the Future of Forecasting Is AI (Gerry)
The author writes, “The season’s most destructive hurricane, Melissa, was one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever. It slammed Jamaica with 185 mph winds, devastating communities and killing dozens of people. A week before the hurricane made landfall, however, forecast models disagreed on where it would go. One model that got it right — accurately predicting Melissa’s path and its Category 5 intensity — was a new one: Google’s DeepMind AI-based hurricane model.”
New York’s Grand Central Terminal Helped Provide the Blueprint for American Cities. It Happened by Accident (Angelle)
From Smithsonian Magazine: “A train wreck that caused the death of more than a dozen commuters near the turn of the 20th century was the impetus behind a monumental project that changed the urban landscape.”
Scientists Thought This Creature Had No Brain. Turns Out It’s All Brain. (Dana)
From Popular Mechanics: “Behold the sea urchin. Spiny and slow-moving, it creeps over ocean rocks with hundreds of tiny tube feet, scraping off algae or the occasional barnacle with its sharp teeth as it makes its way across the seafloor in search of anything edible. These echinoderms might not seem to need much of a brain for their leisurely lifestyle, but on the contrary — their entire body is a brain.”
