TMN is taking a week's vacation. See you Monday, August 22.

The White House unveils a new Africa strategy that seeks to avoid "painting African countries as geopolitical pawns." / Foreign Policy

Kenya's presidential election remains too close to call, not to mention a test for democracy. / The New York Times

The Dark Brandon meme is just another good example that contemporary politics is fandom culture. / Read Max 

See also: What does it mean when the most popular TikToker wears a bikini labeled Father, Son, Holy Spirit? / Dirt

Mitchell S. Jackson tries to understand Clarence Thomas by visiting where he grew up and where he lives now. / Esquire

Regarding the trials of operating the country's first Black-owned outdoor retailer. / Texas Monthly

McDonald's says it plans on reopening restaurants in Ukraine over the next few months. / Reuters

Video footage shows a firenado coming together in northwestern Los Angeles County. / TMN

Your weekly white paper: Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood. / Science Advances

People known to struggle with hot beverages are believed to have "cat tongue." / Sprudge

Why aren't smart people happier? Maybe because they don't enjoy waiting the way they should. / Experimental History, National Library of Medicine

Composers are said to need eyes more than ears, while writers need ears more than eyes. / The Sociological Eye

Related: A writer meditates on romantic thinking. / Meditations in an Emergency

Salman Rushdie is on a ventilator after being attacked onstage at an event in New York. / The Guardian

Your weekly wanderlust: A trip through the Hindu Kush to seek out the Kalash, who claim descent from Alexander the Great's army. / The Critic

Everything you need to know about the complicated controls inside commercial aircraft. / The Prepared