May 11, 2017
Macho Spain doesn’t have a tradition of women’s soccer, but a girls team recently conquered a boys league. / New York Times
Newly subpoenaed Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn is a longtime soul surfer and former pool skater. / The Inertia
“If Mr Trump’s foreign relations degenerate into acrimonious protectionism, then American shoppers and workers will lose. What constrains America now constrains other countries, too.” Unfortunately, reciprocity is at the root of the Mr. Trump’s views on trade. Here’s a brief primer on the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and why Trump wants to wreck it. / The Economist
Phrases used by those least likely to pay back their loans: God, promise, will pay, thank you, hospital. / Science of Us
If the Industrial Revolution hadn’t occurred in Britain, then where? The case for (historical) French innovation. / Anton Howes
Because sometimes swimming pools, like life, are lonely. Recent paintings by South African artist Kirsten Beets. / Kirsten Beets
Your Thursday buried fun fact: In 1966, only five percent of German men changed their underpants daily. / The New York Review of Books
Homeland Security looks to ban laptops in the cabins of all flights from Europe to the United States. / The Daily Beast
“In neither Europe nor America do post-liberal ideas look anywhere near fully ripe, and in both Europe and America there is a ‘first as tragedy, then as farce, then as online flamewar’ quality to the way they’ve entered into political debates.” Ross Douthat says that while our political systems may seem in crisis, we’re only repeating the status quo of recent decades. “A real crisis for the West... still lurks a generation or more ahead.” / New York Times
Chicago’s new American Writers Museum features far more touchscreens (many) than historical artifacts (zero). / Vogue
Despite dozens killed in protest-related violence, anti-government demonstrations surge in Venezuela. / BBC
Yale starts a crisis-response project to help us weather the next recession, funded in part by Gates and Bezos. / Quartz
Testing the waters of an open marriage, a writer profiles couples with varying levels of success at polyamory. / New York Times Magazine