Even in the context of recent years, the size and scope of Northern California’s fires are historically unprecedented. / Weather West
See also: A useful fire and smoke map for people living in the Western United States. / AirNow
To study disease-carrying mosquitoes, scientists let them feed on their own blood./ The Washington Post
Helen Branswell: Four scenarios on how we might develop immunity to Covid-19. / STAT
A museum in Japan displays an exhibition of everyday items from the past six months to tell the pandemic's story. / The Associated Press
A Taiwanese medtech startup develops an autonomous (and frightening!) nasal swab robot. / The Morning News
"The unexpected joy of the worst summer of our lives," a comic by Christine Mi. / Vox
A study finds when hospitals provide equal care to all patients, "the longer odds faced by patients of color can be overcome." / The Los Angeles Times
Wisconsin calls in the National Guard to handle unrest after Jacob Blake was shot in the back by police in front his three children. / Reuters
Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, in conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates. / Vanity Fair
A prison interview with LA rapper 03 Greedo, poised to become the next Kendrick Lamar before getting arrested in Texas. / The Washington Post
Carina del Valle Schorske pays tribute to the only known duet recorded by Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson. / The Morning News
Fact-checking the first night of the Republicans’ National Convention. / The New York Times
“If you wondered how the McCloskeys ended up on your screen, the message wasn’t aimed at you.” / The Washington Post
The American focus on the nuclear family entrenches inequality, ignoring the benefits of multiple generations living together. / Quartz
The miseducation of an urban planner who grew up as a gay Chicano in East Los Angeles. / Common \ Edge
Paying homage to a storied Atlanta gay bar. “It was just like walking into a little town. It was a little world unto itself." / The Oxford American
See also: a search engine for finding “comparative or relative measurements of physical quantities.” / Measure of Things
Tibetan refugees rethink their dependence on WeChat, knowing it engages in censorship and surveillance for China. / Rest of World
Nearly 400 of the 3,900 companies listed on stock exchanges in mainland China paid homage to Xi Jinping in their annual reports. / The Economist
“In the land of the American dream, I learned that success comes through good luck, the right slogans, and monitoring your own—and others’—emotions.” / American Affairs
An email digest of the most-edited Wikipedia articles and discussions from the last week. / The Weeklypedia