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.
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What Is Manhattanhenge and When Can You See It? (Maria)
The author writes, “Twice per year, New Yorkers and visitors are treated to a phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge, when the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan street grid and sinks below the horizon framed in a canyon of skyscrapers. The event is a favorite of photographers and often brings people out onto sidewalks on spring and summer evenings to watch this unique sunset. The first Manhattanhenge of the year happened Tuesday at 8:13 p.m., with a slight variation happening again Wednesday at 8:12 p.m. It will occur again on July 12 and 13. …Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson coined the term.”
Moms for Liberty To Spend Over $3 Million Targeting Presidential Swing State Voters (Sean)
The author writes, “The conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty plans to spend more than $3 million on a multi-state advertising blitz to increase its membership and engage voters before November, following through on a pledge it made last year to become more politically active across the country in 2024. Yet the considerable investment comes with a twist for a group that has previously said its focus was on local school board races: It will specifically target voters in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, four states that are among the most important presidential battlegrounds this fall, and some of its initial advertising directly criticizes the Biden administration.”
Fontana Pays Nearly $900,000 for ‘Psychological Torture’ Inflicted by Police To Get False Confession (Dana)
From the San Bernardino Sun: “Detectives told [Thomas Perez Jr.] that his father was dead, that they had recovered his body and it now ‘wore a toe tag at the morgue.’ They said they had evidence that Perez killed his father and that he should just admit it, records show. … Finally, after curling up with the dog on the floor, Perez broke down and confessed. He said he had stabbed his father multiple times with a pair of scissors during an altercation in which his father hit Perez over the head with a beer bottle. He was so distraught that he even tried to hang himself with the drawstring from his shorts after being left alone in the interrogation room. Perez was arrested, handcuffed, and transported to a mental hospital for 72-hour observation. But later that day, the truth derailed the detectives’ theory and their prized confession. Perez’s father wasn’t dead — or even missing.”
Cracking the Christian Nationalist Code: A Glossary for the Confused (DonkeyHotey)
From Salon: “It remains quite a challenge to relate the beliefs and practices of [New Apostolic Reformation] leaders to what’s unfolding this year, in what figures to be one of the most consequential presidential elections in history. This is true both because religious movements tend to be complex, with contradictory currents and various shades of belief and practice, and because the NAR does not have a traditional membership structure, and the structures it does possess are often obscure to outsiders. In addition, the media generally fails to depict social and religious movements clearly or understand how they function. A handful of key terms can help clarify matters, from overarching concepts like ‘dominionism’ to deliberately vague phrases like ‘covenant marriage’ or ‘government schools.’ To help meet that challenge, I’ve put together the following glossary of terms.”
How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe (Laura and Dana)
From ProPublica: “Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world.”
Biden Underestimates How Much Black Americans Care About This Issue (Russ)
The author writes, “As an environment and climate researcher, I have found that despite the growing threat posed by climate change, politicians often seem to downplay the crisis when courting Black communities. Democratic strategists seem to see climate change as a key political issue only for white liberal elites and assume that other groups, like Black voters, are either unaware of or apathetic about it. In reality, Black Americans are growing increasingly concerned about climate change.”
Alaskan Rivers Turning Orange Due to Climate Change, Study Finds (Mili)
The author writes, “Dozens of rivers and streams in Alaska are turning rusty orange, a likely consequence of thawing permafrost, a new study finds. The Arctic is the fastest-warming region in the globe, and as the frozen ground below the surface melts, minerals once locked away in that soil are now seeping into waterways. ‘It’s an unforeseen impact of climate change that we’re seeing in some of the most pristine rivers in our country,’ said Brett Poulin, study author and assistant professor of environmental toxicology at University of California Davis. The permafrost thaw is exposing minerals to oxygen in a process known as weathering, which increases the acidity of the water and dissolves metals like zinc, copper, cadmium and iron.”
Jasmine Crockett Embracing Internet Fame After Confrontation With Marjorie Taylor Greene (Reader Steve)
From The Dallas Morning News: “U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has witnessed plenty of partisan fireworks as a freshman member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, but last week’s confrontation with Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly reached new heights as an online sensation. … When Crockett showed up at a speaking engagement the next day, one woman there was wearing a dress bearing the phrase. The furor has raged online for days as people post parody remixes of the hearing room exchange or release their own songs incorporating what Crockett calls the ‘B6’ phrase. Crockett’s campaign filed an application to trademark the six-word phrase, which she said was a spontaneous creation.”
From Our Archives
The Iran Nuclear Deal and the View From Tehran
August 10, 2018: “Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at the Woodrow Wilson Center at Princeton. A former Iranian ambassador to Germany, he was the chief spokesman for Iran during its nuclear negotiations with the international community. Several years ago, he parted ways with the Iranian government. This week he joins Jeff Schechtman for our WhoWhatWhy podcast. Mousavian sets the stage with a look at Iran’s reaction to the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA). He talks about the debate that took place inside Iran on whether or not Iran should even enter into negotiations with the US. He reminds Schechtman that 40 years of distrust is a very high hurdle to overcome.”
