Is it drugs?

Sailor Cole Brauer becomes the first American woman to race nonstop around the world by herself. / The Newport Daily News

Republican and Democrat First Ladies are said to both deal with different versions of the "same gendered expectations." / Politico

See also: A roundtable with three female watch collectors. / GQ

The world is experiencing a small boom in city-building. / The Economist

Four decades' worth of research prove that bike lanes are good for small businesses. / Business Insider

Notes from a rough walk around Phoenix. "I would like to say we are a better country than this… but I'm not so sure anymore." / Chris Arnade Walks the World

A visual "love letter" to skateboarding in Texas. / The Kid Should See This

For Senegalese immigrants, the current trendy route to the United States is through Nicaragua. / Voice of America

From February, a timeline of Swedish pastries. / The Newbie Guide to Sweden

This year's freebie bags for nominees of the major Oscar awards are worth $170,000; included in the bags are taxable-income forms. / Robb Report

Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball manga and anime franchise, dies at 68. / The Japan Times

An obituary for the incredible life of Josette Molland, French resistance fighter and artist, who recently died at 100. / The New York Times [+]

"Is it drugs?" This year's Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes, is a wrap. / The Tournament of Books


And now a brief chat with a new Sustaining Member, Hal T.!

Hal, you found us through the Tournament of Books, is that right? How long have you been reading and why? I love the ToB. I don’t remember how long I've been reading—five-plus years? The critiques are great and fun, and interesting, everything I want when reading—about books or squids, or hockey pucks, or whatever. Good writing is good writing.

Hard agree. Any particular reason you decided to support today? I’ve meant to since I first heard about the ToB but never really focussed. The timing this year was good because I just finished my taxes and have a few extra coins sitting around.

We really appreciate it! Shout-out to you! Can you shout out my puppies? Okay, no longer puppies: 13- and 15-year-old Malteses Izzi and Rozi. They’d enjoy it 😊


A HUGE shout-out to Hal, Izzi, and Rozi—and all of our supporters! Good weekend wishes to everybody.

TMN is reader-funded. Join today as a Sustaining Member, and we'll shout you out, too!

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Your headlines are sourced and composed by Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Monday through Saturday.