The Top 5: Special education, masculinity, women's weak language
Plus, our first ever GOP Power Rankings (and Pasta Rankings) on the pod
Welcome to your weekly edition of the Top 5 articles we’ve read this week. Each week, we read dozens of articles in the hope we find essays and reporting that speak to big ideas, trends, future looks, and incredible human stories. We hope you enjoy our list, and do always let us know if you have a suggestion or a recommendation! Please also consider becoming a paid subscriber if this is one of those newsletters you open up all the time or look forward to each week. We couldn’t do this work without our paying subscribers!
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The Top 5 articles for your week:
“Special Ed Shouldn’t Be Separate” (The Atlantic)
Because Julie Kim covers the mixed-results studies on “inclusive education,” i.e. the integration of disabled children into classrooms with non-disabled children, the challenges surrounding funding and resourcing inclusive education settings, and the idea that for kids with disabilities, “‘There is no ‘special’ universe into which they graduate.’”
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Because Christine Emba follows-up her viral WaPo piece (featured in the Top 5) on masculinity and men feeling lost. In this latest short essay, she explores the creation of norms or ideals and where to set them in this particular conversation. She also she begins to explore biological differences and embodied experiences.
“The economy is in the midst of something wonderful (and unexpected)” (Washington Post)
Because the Editorial Board writes in this short piece, “The U.S. economy is in the midst of a wonderful — and unexpected — workforce boom. More than 3.1 million workers joined the labor force in the past year, meaning these people started looking for jobs and, largely, are getting hired. Almost no one expected this.”
“Women Know Exactly What They’re Doing When They Use ‘Weak Language’” (NYT)
Because psychologist Adam Grant argues, “normalize “weak language” as a strong way to express concern and humility. If we do that, we won’t have to keep encouraging women to communicate more forcefully. Instead, we’ll finally be able to recognize the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness.”
“This Scorching Summer Is Taking a Toll on Your Favorite Foods” (Wired)
Because Maryn McKenna chronicles the effects of extreme heat and weather pattern changes on agriculture and food security, “Losing a regional crop is a problem for nutrition; if you rely on one plant to supply a crucial nutrient, and it fails, you have to go looking for that vitamin somewhere else. But it’s also a challenge to predict future harvests. After all, you wouldn’t plant something if you didn’t feel moderately confident it would grow.”