That surreal life.
That Ukraine International Airlines flight in Tehran appears to have been downed by an Iranian missile, possibly fired by mistake. Iran’s civil aviation chief disagrees. 1/21
After severe earthquakes damage Puerto Rico, hundreds of thousands are without water. 2/21
Australians prepare for another weekend of fire. 3/21
In Island Park, Idaho, a fight over roadkill and wildlife overpasses becomes a referendum on government control. 4/21
The Trump administration wants to scale back a bedrock federal environmental law to make it easier to build pipelines. 5/21
A study finds that Trump has learned little as president "and appears unlikely to do so over the remainder of his tenure." 6/21
Key dates on the political calendar for the coming year. 7/21
See also: "The surreal lives of 2020 campaign spouses: What happens when your loved one wants to be president.” 8/21
In the US, the average new mother with insurance will pay more than $4,500 for her labor and delivery. In Finland? $60. 9/21
Watch: Britons try to guess how much different health care items cost in the United States. 10/21
The beds in the athletes village at this year’s Tokyo Olympics will be made of cardboard (that can support up to 200 kilograms). 11/21
Scientists use fibers that change color when put under strain to understand why some knots work and some don't. 12/21
Minimalism may seem pleasantly slick, but it relies on maximalist assemblage and unsustainable excess. 13/21
Something we missed, from July: Jill Lepore finally opens her best friend's laptop, 20 years after her death. 14/21
Read more stories like this in our editors' longreads picks. 15/21
Today’s National Book Award winners and nominees are surprisingly homogenous: not for skin color or ethnicity, but career path. 16/21
"Understand what ‘I do not understand’ means." A biologist offers tips on working in the same office as a physicist. 17/21
Pictures of daily life during the climate crisis, as rendered by Hayden Williams. 18/21
Nafissa Thompson-Spires writes about reaching a certain point in life: get a hysterectomy, or die. 19/21
Why children's television is deliberately weird and mesmerizing: because kids don't have adult-like comprehension of TV until age 12. 20/21
Among 28 petitions received by the Ohio Medical Board for medical marijuana treatment: "being a Bengals or Browns fan." 21/21
And now a brief chat with a recent Sustaining Member, Kathy R.
Kathy, what brought you to TMN in the first place? The Millions blog pointed me toward the TMN book tournament. I immediately posted the bracket in my office as an antidote to March Madness. I don't speak Sports, but I do speak Book. At last, a form of March Madness I can get behind!
Love it! How do you enjoy TMN now? From the Tournament of Books it was a short step to the headlines newsletter. I like the newsletter because it presents interesting stories and ideas from all over the internet, things I don't generally hear about through mainstream news outlets. I still read it because it is always surprising and interesting and can take me down the best rabbit holes.
A big honking thank you to Kathy and to all of our Sustaining Members or anyone who's made a one-time donation to support this newsletter. Y'all make our days. 📯
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