The coronavirus’s "psychological grip on the US has weakened" thanks to pandemic fatigue, warmer weather, and the surge in vaccinations. / The Washington Post

What to make of the AstraZeneca vaccine data—and the surrounding controversy. / STAT

New analysis finds that fear-mongering articles connecting vaccines and death have been among the most highly engaged with content online this year. / NPR

Georgia Republicans on Thursday passed a sweeping law to restrict voting access in the state. / The Washington Post

“An underfunded and overworked IRS has enabled a handful of plutocratic tax cheats to live large at the expense of everyone else.” / The New Republic

The University of Southern California will pay more than $1.1 billion to the former patients of a campus gynecologist accused of preying on hundreds of patients, setting a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts. / The Los Angeles Times

The Suez Canal may be blocked for weeks. Children offer advice on how to unstick it. / BBC News, Slate

The National Academies of Sciences releases a report on how the US could create a plan to block the sun if global warming becomes a threat to human existence. / Gizmodo

Related: A comic strip about a bee's vendetta with the sun. / Whatever Forever

Japan is no stranger to conspiracy theories, but QAnon never caught on among connoisseurs. “It’s too naïve for our readership.” / The New York Times

Elif Batuman: In making pain beautiful, does fiction perhaps depoliticize us? / The Morning News

A cooperative of 30 avant-garde musicians built their own streaming platform "from the fringes of improvised music." / Pitchfork

“Attention, Texas brigade! Forward! The eyes of General Lee are upon you!” Tracing the Texas fight song back to Robert E. Lee. / Alberto A. Martinez

Park Ranger Mariah Reading paints landscapes on garbage found in the national parks. / Atlas Obscura

Authentic streetwear and its associated street cultures still exist, but they’re not on the backs of billionaires. / Die, Workwear!

The West coast enters alligator lizard mating season, which means a whole lot of head-clomping. / National History Museums

New Mexico’s “Equus Experience” claims to offer life-changing “attunement” through horses that impart secret knowledge (but you can’t ride them). / The New York Times

It’s the final Friday in the Tournament of Books, presented by Field Notes®, which means we know who’s entering the Zombie Round! / The Tournament of Books