Moderna says a booster shot of its vaccine will be necessary to contend with the Delta variant going into winter. / The New York Times

Mattel releases a Barbie doll of vaccinologist Sarah Gilbert, the scientist who designed the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. / BBC News

An argument for Project Bioshield as the most important legislation in 20 years—for giving us the Emergency Use Authorization. / Marginal Revolution

Delta is everywhere in the US, so Europeans are somewhat vexed by restrictions that prevent them from visiting (or returning). / The Washington Post

Claire Vergerio: For all the talk about where countries are going, few people really understand where they come from. / Boston Review

Some highlights from Ezra Klein's recent conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates. / TMN

In Durham, NC, like in many places around the US, Black neighborhoods are much hotter than their white counterparts—in a bad way. / Indy Week

Missing classes has a negative impact on low-achieving students, but higher-achieving students can benefit from it. / The Conversation

How did we spend 2020? For one thing, less time given to health-related self care, personal care services, and working out. / Flowing Data

IKEA introduces a line of furniture that includes built-in air purifiers, anticipating a polluted future. / Moss and Fog

If you haven't yet, please take a moment to complete a private poll and help us improve this newsletter! / Google Forms

Marvel's multiverse offers Disney "franchise expansion without limit," and also a convenient way to limit its stars' labor power. / Art Review

Claire Marie Healy: For movie directors looking to explore the darker sides of being a girl, "Florida has been a magnet." / AnOther Magazine

Headline of the week? "Iceberg wall collapses at Titanic Museum in Tennessee." / WBNS

Some thoughts on how to spot "the introverted narcissist." And some thoughts on "context collapse" in a case of parallel parking. / The Guardian, TMN

Thirty nice photographs from the Tokyo Olympics. Also, in case you were wondering, flying a horse from the US to Tokyo costs around $55,000 and includes a lot of hay. / The Atlantic, BuzzFeed