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
 |
The Pandemic’s Labor Market Myths (Maria)
The authors write, “For economists and other forecasters, the pandemic and post-pandemic economy has been a lesson in humility. Time and again, predictions about ways in which the labor market had been permanently changed have proved temporary or even illusory. … That is not to say nothing has changed. In a historically strong labor market with very low unemployment, workers have a lot more power than is typical, so they are winning better wages and new perks. And a shift toward working from home for many white-collar jobs is still reshaping the economy in subtle but important ways. But the big takeaway from the pandemic recovery is simple: The U.S. labor market was not permanently worsened.”
‘The Single Biggest Threat to the Security of the Country’: Extremism in the Military Is Alarming Experts (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “There is no reliable data on the prevalence of extremist views among service members, and the likelihood, with roughly 1.4 million Americans in uniform, is that the percentage is very small. But there is this: In the last five years, at least 82 current and former military service members have been arrested and exposed as harboring far-right, antigovernment, or neo-Nazi ideologies, according to a Boston Globe analysis of court documents, media reports, and studies compiled by independent researchers.”
Can Judaism Survive a Messianic Dictatorship in Israel? (Gerry)
From Haaretz: “Jews around the world will shortly commemorate Tisha B’Av, the fast day marking the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians and of the Second Temple by the Romans. Can Judaism survive the destruction of the Third Temple – the prosperous Israeli democracy – this time by the Jews themselves? And what would such destruction look like?”
How the Daughters of a Nazi General Became Communist Spies (Al)
From Jacobin: “As Hitler rose to power, two daughters of Germany’s top general became spies for the Communist Party. A new biography tells the story of how hatred for fascism and its aristocratic collaborators led them to become class traitors.”
What’s Causing This Record-Breaking Heat? (Sean)
From Scientific American: “The trend toward more frequent, longer-lasting and more intense heat waves is a hallmark of the climate emergency that has resulted from humans burning fossil fuels and releasing planet-warming greenhouse gases. These heat extremes — along with exceptionally warm ocean waters — contributed to the first week of July becoming the hottest week on record globally. … That milestone came just after the hottest June on record. With an El Niño event in place that is set to further boost global temperatures, experts expect that more monthly — and potentially even yearly — heat records could be topped.”
Why Every Women’s World Cup City Has Two Names (Laura)
The author writes, “When soccer fans land in New Zealand this month ahead of the Women’s World Cup, they may find themselves welcomed not to Auckland or Wellington, but to ‘Tāmaki Makaurau’ (‘Tah-mah-key Ma-kow-row’) or ‘Te Whanganui-a-Tara’ (‘Tay Fung-a-noo-ee a Tah-rah’). Those names — what the cities are called in the country’s Indigenous language, te reo Māori — are reflected in the official documents for this year’s Women’s World Cup, which has placed Indigenous languages and imagery unapologetically at the forefront.”
