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Back in the '60s, a couple of Harvard studies downplayed some of the health risks associated with sugar, as researchers "tore apart studies that implicated sugar and concluded that there was only one dietary modification -- changing fat and cholesterol intake -- that could prevent coronary heart disease." It only took about five decades for us to find out that those researchers were funded by the sugar industry. (Full disclosure: This blurb was sponsored by bacon...)
+ Vox: How the sugar industry distorted science.
+ I'm pretty sure this is related: Introducing Organic Gatorade.
"Parents in every culture at a given moment think they're doing the optimal thing for their kids. But their concept of what is optimal is extremely different from another culture and even from another generation in their own culture." A husband and wife research team combined 50 years of fieldwork and a broad lit review in an effort to answer one simple question: Do Parents Matter? I think that question can best be answered by something my 8-year-old daughter said to me when I was tucking her in for bed: "You're so dumb for someone who reads everything online."
In 1983, the series finale of M*A*S*H -- Goodbye, Farewell and Amen -- pulled in around 105 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-Super Bowl TV broadcast. Given the fervor around (and entertainment value of) the current presidential campaign, it seems possible that the Clinton/Trump debates will be even bigger. It seems even more possible that they will mark a new low in our already lowbrow level of public discourse. Here's The New Yorker's Jill Lepore on how politicians (and the rest of us) debate these days: "Political argument has been having a terrible century. Instead of arguing, everyone from next-door neighbors to members of Congress has got used to doing the I.R.L. equivalent of posting to the comments section: serially fulminating."
+ James Fallows in The Atlantic: When Donald Meets Hillary.
+ Here's a prediction: The most influential moments in the debate will have nothing to do with being president. And this year, that may go for the rest of our election coverage as well. The headline of 2016 so far comes from The Hill: Clinton's reluctance to drink water causing tension with her staff. Politico has responded with Hydrated Hillary: 9 times Clinton quenched her thirst. That one seems like parody, but in this election, you never know for sure.
"'I told him, 'Put down the gun,' and he's like, 'Just shoot me.' And I told him, 'I'm not going to shoot you brother.' Then he starts flicking his wrist to get me to react to it. I thought I was going to be able to talk to him and deescalate it. I knew it was a suicide-by-cop situation." From WaPo: West Virginia cop fired for not killing a man with an unloaded gun.
Springsteen canceled a concert. The NBA moved the all-star game. Now the NCAA has pulled seven championships from North Carolina because of the state's controversial bathroom bill. And the ACC has followed suit.
+ The North Carolina GOP was not happy: "This is so absurd it's almost comical. I genuinely look forward to the NCAA merging all men's and women's teams together as singular, unified, unisex teams. Under the NCAA's logic, colleges should make cheerleaders and football players share bathrooms, showers and hotel rooms." (I'm pretty sure I already saw that movie on Cinemax.)
It may seem like secularism is on the rise. But organized religion is still big, and big business. According to The Guardian: "The faith economy has a higher value than the combined revenues of the top 10 technology companies in the US, including Apple, Amazon and Google." (And their people have also been vesting a lot longer.)
"To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous, instead of a compulsory routine, is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds." The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin on Colin Kaepernick and a Landmark Supreme Court Case. It's so interesting that Kaepernick knelt during the anthem to strike up a conversation about race in America, and we ended up having a conversation about kneeling during the anthem.
I use NextDraft as a platform to share links to the Internet's most fascinating news. But this, I won't be linking to the story about Colin Powell's hacked emails in which journalists (or in this case, accomplices) plucked out a few gems about Donald and Hillary. We've completely normalized the publishing and sharing of stolen data -- even in cases like this where the release of the data serves no important greater good. And it was stolen. Leaked and Hacked are not synonyms. I didn't link to stories that published emails from the Sony hack. And I'm not linking to these stories either. Sure, everyone has probably seen the money quotes anyway. But a lot of journalists and editors read NextDraft. And I want them to know that partnering with thieves is a bad trend.
+ The Atlantic: How long until hackers start faking leaked documents?
"Bayer in the U.S. is known largely for its pharmaceuticals, with scientists who developed modern Aspirin and Alka-Seltzer." And you might need a little of both to process the company's latest deal: a massive $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto. Here's more on the deal that could reshape the world's food supply. (If Bayer/Monstanto's pesticides make you sick, don't worry. Bayer/Monsanto has a drug to help you. Synergy!)
"New research from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland has found that watching TV series, and consuming other media like films and books with one's partner, can help to achieve the same kind of closeness as having a mutual group of friends. In relationships without many shared friends, the characters actually take on a similar role, providing a shared social world which, the researchers say, helps two individuals feel close and connected." Yes, watching Game of Thrones with your spouse is good for your marriage.
Greta Friedman has died at the age of 92. You probably don't recognize the name. But you will definitely recognize her photo.
+ And Eddie Antar has died at the age of 68. You might not recognize that name either. Unless you put the word "crazy" in front of it.
+ There are plenty of dog walkers for hire. But I'm pretty sure that Chuck McCarthy is the first people walker. (And from the looks of it, he's artisanal too.)
+ Vox: Humans and Neanderthals had sex. But was it for love? That's remarkably close to a toast someone gave at my wedding.
+ This kid is my new favorite athlete of all time. I just hope he's available for baby-sitting.
This is a weekly best-of version of the NextDraft newsletter. For daily updates and to get the NextDraft app, go here. (Original story reprinted with permission from NextDraft.)
