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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Who’s the Smallest of Them all? Meet the World’s Amazing Tiny Creatures (Maria)
The author writes, “In the 19th century, the German zoologist Christian Bergmann pondered a simple question: Why are some animals so small? His answer, that a warm-blooded animal’s size increases as its habitat cools, remains a rule in biology to this day. ‘Bergmann pointed out that smaller species tend to live in warmer climes. This pattern is to do with surface area and volume: smaller animals lose heat faster and struggle to maintain their body temperature when it is very cold,’ says Dr. Simon Loader, the principal curator of vertebrates at the Natural History Museum. … With much of life on Earth still unknown, scientists are discovering new tiny organisms every year, redefining what is considered the smallest of their kind.”
Russia Is Boosting Calls for ‘Civil War’ Over Texas Border Crisis (Reader Jim)
From Wired: “A Russian disinformation campaign is deploying everything from high-ranking lawmakers and government officials to lifestyle influencers, bloggers, and powerful state-run media outlets to stoke divisions in the United States around the Texas border crisis. Wired has also obtained exclusive access to data from two separate disinformation research groups that demonstrate a coordinated Russian effort on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) to sow discord by pushing the narrative that the US is heading for civil war.”
Aileen Cannon Blows Off DOJ Concerns About Witness Safety to Give Trump a Win (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Judge Aileen Cannon gave Donald Trump’s defense another win by blowing off concerns by the Department of Justice in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team met last week with the U.S. District Court judge to explain why some portions of their legal filings must be shielded from Trump’s lawyers, but Cannon dismissed their concerns about doing harm to classified witnesses, disclosing an FBI code name for a separate investigation, and revealing uncharged conduct by one or more individuals.”
WA House Bill Would Make It Illegal For Police To Lie During Interrogations (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “House Bill 1062, sponsored by Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, aims to make defendants’ statements inadmissible in court if police use deceptive tactics during interrogations to get those statements. Nine states have passed similar laws, but they only apply to juveniles.”
Why Does Journalism Seem Like It’s Collapsing? Call It Market Failure (Dana)
From Fast Company: “This year, something unusually dark is happening in an industry that is, by design, quite used to handling bad news. In a strong economy, with unemployment near a 50-year low, virtually every single part of the news business — digital media, local news, TV, print, podcasts, and documentaries — is laying off people at the same time. Audiences for news are shrinking. Thousands of journalists are losing jobs. In conversations I’ve had recently, with both execs and workaday journalists like myself, people have started privately whispering two extremely grim words to describe what’s happening: market failure.”
Millions of Americans Face Risk of a Toxic ‘Bomb Train’ (Laura)
The author writes, “Less than a year ago, a disastrous train derailment sent a massive plume of dangerous chemicals billowing over East Palestine, Ohio, startling the town of nearly 5,000 residents and onlookers nationwide. Now, a new report warns that more of these catastrophes may loom: At any given moment, more than an estimated 3 million people are unknowingly at risk, as toxic trains full of a highly combustible and carcinogenic chemical used to make plastic move between Texas and New Jersey.”
Could a Giant Parasol in Outer Space Help Solve the Climate Crisis? (Sean)
The author writes, “It’s come to this. With Earth at its hottest point in recorded history, and humans doing far from enough to stop its overheating, a small but growing number of astronomers and physicists are proposing a potential fix that could have leaped from the pages of science fiction: The equivalent of a giant beach umbrella, floating in outer space.”
