Reading

It’s 1:17 a.m., and I’m sitting on the floor of my kitchen drinking Dr Pepper Blackberry out of the can like it’s medicine for a heartbreak I haven’t earned yet. I haven’t cried today, but I can feel it coming, crouched behind my molars. This beverage might be the gateway.

The label promises “Delightfully Dark. Subtly Sweet,” which, coincidentally, is also how I described myself during a short-lived phase in college when I tried to brand myself as “the mysterious girl who reads Bukowski and wears velvet chokers.” It didn’t stick. Much like this flavor profile.

I pop the tab. The hiss is aggressive, like the soda is already judging me for buying it. Like it’s muttering, “This is what we’re doing now?” before surrendering to carbonation.

Blackberry hits first. Not a real blackberry. Not a berry that ever knew soil or sunshine. This is the kind of blackberry that grew up in a basement listening to My Chemical Romance and wearing fingerless gloves. It’s dramatic. It’s synthetic. It’s here to make you question everything you once believed about fruit.

A group of librarians is called a cardigan.

A collection of empty chairs is called an author reading.

A collection of Eric Carle books covered in spit-up is called a storytime.

A group of exhausted mothers covered in spit-up is also called a storytime.

A cluster of teens reading quietly is called a mystery.

A pile of books gathering dust is called a hold shelf.

A handful of change is called a budget.

A stack of books on a nightstand is called a magical thinking.

A group of people who only remember “the cover was blue” is called a patron.

A plastic prize tub of stickers is called a summer reading program.

A collection of missing pieces is called a community jigsaw.

A group of retirees is called a Scrabble night.

A shelf of books in alphabetical order is called a miracle.

A group of shushing librarians is called a cliché.

A group of underfunded libraries is called a tragedy.

It’s time to rethink how we study life’s origins. It emerged far earlier, and far quicker, than we once thought possible

- by Michael Marshall

Read on Psyche

It was just like her – my bold, dead mother – to show up in my life again. Or was grief playing tricks on me?

- by Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein

Read on Psyche

A new lawsuit seeks to end ICE’s tactic of setting up immigrants to be taken from immigration courts.

The post Teen Immigrant’s Release Propels Lawsuit to End ICE’s Courthouse Arrests appeared first on The Intercept.

If you’ve spent any time at all on TikTok recently, you’ll have seen plenty of videos from young people despairing about life in the UK. Videos with captions like ‘Why is everything so expensive?’, ‘Why is rent so high?’, ‘Why can’t I get a doctor’s appointment?’ are going viral every day. With no clear answers, […]

From medical diagram to international artwork

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Welcome to the Climates Issue

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Looking for habitable worlds? Check the ones with extreme swings.

The post Wild Orbits Prime Planets for Life appeared first on Nautilus.

Scholten, who is among a small coterie of anti-establishment Democrats to outperform Kamala Harris in deep red states, will endorse Josh Turek.

The post Amid DSCC Pressure, Democratic Populist J.D. Scholten Exits Iowa Senate Race appeared first on The Intercept.