NPR

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 26, 2021-Jan 1, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re a bit short on the thoughty this week. What there is, is interesting, though. Get your mental corn popping. At least a little.

Maryn McKenna: covid will become endemic. The world must decide what that means. Wired

Nishita Jha: welcome to the jungle. On the Smithsonian’s #metoo moment. Buzzfeed

The real reason we’re all so busy (and what to do about it). Dorie Clark | TEDxBoston

The European Space Agency is opening a 50-year-old Christmas present from the moon. Phys.org

Louise Lerner: to find the very highest energy ghost particles in the universe, a new detector will soar over Antarctica. SciTech Daily

The most anticipated space missions of 2022. SciShow Space

Ayesha Rascoe: it’s not science fiction. Scientists have really made robots that reproduce. NPR

Becky Ferreira reports that cavers reach the bottom of an ancient “well of hell” for the first time. Vice

Andrew Curry reveals the immense mystery older than Stonehenge. BBC

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Aug 8-14, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Friday eve! Get your mental corn popping in time for the weekend 🙂

Melissa Kimble covers Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and the revolutionary power of Black women’s rest. Glamour

Genelle Levy: the real history of Black Martha’s Vineyard. Narratively

Related: the history of Wampanoag (on Martha’s Vineyard).

Frankie Huang: can we solve America’s food appropriation problem? Grub Street

Alex Hern reports that a student proves Twitter algorithm “bias” toward lighter, slimmer, younger faces. The Guardian

You’re not dumb. You’re just not wealthy and/or *whispers* white. Khadija Mbowe

The Warrior Walk for Healing Nations honours children and residential school survivors. CBC

Terry Tang reports that there have been over 9,000 anti-Asian incidents since the pandemic began. Associated Press

Matthew Wills explains how blind activists fought for blind workers. JSTOR Daily

Josie Fischels shows you how to watch “the best meteor shower of the year.” NPR

Rivka Galchen declares that NASA’s new telescope will show us the infancy of the universe. The New Yorker

Maya Wei-Haas shares what we know about the Mars rover failed sample attempt. National Geographic

Joey Roulette reports that NASA’s new space suits are delayed, making a 2024 Moon landing “unfeasible.” The Verge

Livia Gershon bets you’ll never believe who invented curbside recycling. JSTOR Daily

Tom Pattinson: the wonders of Greta Thunberg. Vogue Scandinavia

Olivia Box warns of climate change’s dangerous effects on the boreal forest. JSTOR Daily

Nina Chestney and Andrea Januta: UN climate change report sounds “code red” for humanity. Reuters

Lizzie Marx tells the tale of a beached whale (and ambergris): picturing scent. The Public Domain Review

A purr-fect match! Animal shelter posts lonely pets on Tinder. Reuters

And that was thoughty Thursday. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 7-13, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

As you prepare for the coming weekend, don’t forget to get your mental corn popping.

Laila El Mugammar announces that an emotional documentary about Canada’s legendary Black cowboy is streaming free now. Chatelaine

Samantha Kubota reports that the brand formerly known as Aunt Jemima reveals new name. NBC News

Azi Paybarah: KKK member who drove into BLM protesters gets more than three years in prison. The New York Times

Emotional intelligence, racial stereotypes, and the politics of emotional expression | Khadija Mbowe

Michele Debczak: new spacecraft named after Katherine Johnson honors the pioneering NASA mathematician. Mental Floss

How did the Milky Way get its spiral? SciShow Space

WHO says coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from Wuhan lab. CBC

Micheleen Doucleff: extraordinary patient offers surprising clues to coronavirus variants. NPR

Jaclyn Diaz reports that a second person dies of Ebola in the Congo, marking the virus’s return. NPR

Jason Slotkin: tens of thousands rally in Myanmar, protesting military coup. NPR

Eric Levenson, Stephanie Becker, and Dan Simon report that the rise in attacks on elderly Asian Americans in Bay area prompts new special response unit. CNN

Leah Brennan and Josh LaBella report that a Yale graduate student identified as the victim of Saturday’s fatal shooting in New Haven. New Haven Register

Michelle Ghoussoub announces that women’s rights activist Loujain Alhathloul released after 1,001 days in Saudi prison. CBC

Oliver Milman shares that air pollution in US subway systems stuns researchers. The Guardian

Sharon J. Riley explains how a public uprising caused a province built on fossil fuels to reverse course on coal mining. The Narwhal

Sandy Schaeffer compiles all the Joss Whedon abuse and misconduct allegations. #metoo ScreenRant

Deiter Buse: now is the time to ask what you can do for Laurentian. The Sudbury Star

Health Sciences North faces lawsuit over misread breast imaging results. CBC

Why you read slower as you age. SciShow Psych

Brenda Knowles examines imposter syndrome and how it can be a blessing in disguise. Space2Live

Stonehenge may have been first erected in Wales. Aljazeera

Listen to the sweet, soft warble common ravens sing to their partners. Audubon

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 6-12, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s thoughty Thursday, your opportunity to get your mental corn popping!

Brakkton Booker: federal investigators join probe into Casey Goodson shooting death. NPR

N’dea Yancey-Bragg reports that the Seattle police who fired pepper spray and blast balls at BLM protestors violated order, according to judge. USA Today

Liz Navratil reveals how a divided Minnesota city council votes to cut 8 million from police budget. Star Tribune

Emmanuel Acho talks to the police. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.

Hailey Fuchs: Brandon Bernard’s planned execution stirs debate over punishment for your offenders. The New York Times

Karen Hao read the AI ethics paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google. Here’s what it says. MIT Technology Review

Luis Martinez reports that 14 senior army leaders at Fort Hood suspended or fired after broad review of sexual harassment and abuse allegations. ABC News

Colin Dwyer: Canada authorizes Pfizer vaccine. NPR

Joe takes us inside the lab that developed the covid-19 vaccine. It’s okay to be smart

Margot Sanger-Katz, Claire Cain Miller and Quoctrung Bui compiled this article on how 700 epidemiologists are living now, and what they think is next. The New York Times

Jackie Wattles explain how the Starship explosion was still a success. Spoilers: we learn from our failures. CNN

Nadia Drake introduces us to the astronauts of the Artemis Mission, eight of whom are women (!). National Geographic

Jim Daley says Earth’s orbital shifts may have triggered ancient global warming. (From Sept 2019, but still interesting.) Scientific American

Marco Hernandez and Cassandra Garrison report that the world’s biggest iceberg heads for disaster. Climate change is still happening. Reuters

Grace Eber explains how precisely arranged stones coil and surge across the land in Jon Foreman’s mesmeric works. This is Colossal

Fun, and so much better than the original. Walk Off the Earth and Harm & Ease cover Toxic.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you found something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 20-26, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

BLM and covid-19 sections precede more general links.

Tessa Duvall offers a fact-check on the Breonna Taylor case. USA Today

Dylan Lovan, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, and John Minchillo report on the two Louisville officers shot during the Breonna Taylor protests. Why? “The violence comes after prosecutors said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire from her boyfriend. The only charges were three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into a home next to Taylor’s with people inside.” AP News

Russell Contreras reveals how the story of the underground railroad to Mexico is gaining attention. Associated Press

Jacinda Townsend explains how the Green Book helped Black travellers navigate a segregated nation. Yes, this is from 2016. These conversations aren’t new. The Smithsonian Magazine

Sam Levine explains how Republicans gutted the biggest voting rights victory in recent history. Voter suppression/poll taxing in action. The Guardian

Mohammed Elnaiem revisits the death of South African activist Steve Biko. JSTOR Daily

Nicole Karlis reports that a covid vaccine may only last for a year based on the most recent findings. Salon

Olga Khazan: a failure of empathy led to 200,000 deaths. It has deep roots. The Atlantic

How losing your job changes you. SciShow Psych

Richard Herzog explains how Aztecs reacted to colonial pandemics. JSTOR Daily

Richard Wolf calls Justice Ginsberg a superhero who never quit as she returns to Supreme Court one final time. Ginsberg is the first woman to lie in state. USA Today

Jackson Katz: violence against women—it’s a men’s issue. This TED talk is from 2012. Have we made significant progress since? TEDxFiDiWomen 

Ruth Tam advises you to lift your head and lower your arms—you just might feel better. NPR

Meghan Keane explains how to say no, for the people pleaser who always says yes. NPR

Stephen E. Nash: what fire archaeology tells us about the bringing of the American West. Atlas Obscura

The truth about dog years. SciShow

Thieving pikas in the Rockies. Because pikas are CUTE! The Nature of Things | CBC

Sarah Miller Llana considers the Sudbury model: how one of the world’s major polluters went green. Christian Science Monitor

It’s probably not life on Venus … but it could be. SciShow Space

Thor Benson reveals project A119 and the time we almost nuked the moon. Wild. Digital Trends

Alex Sanz: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins intends to vote from the ISS. AP News

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend I should be posting my next chapter update for September (!) Seriously, where has the time gone?

Until then, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 13-19, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, the curation of random stuff intended to get your mental corn popping.

Nina Bahadur explains how Black doulas are fighting the maternal mortality crisis. CBS

Rashawn Ray interrogates what defunding the police means and does the idea have merit? Brookings

Evie Muir: racial gaslighting and microaggressions can’t be ignored any longer. Refinery 29

Margot Gage Witvliet: I’m a covid-19 long-hauler and an epidemiologist—here’s how it feels to have symptoms for months. (Included in the BLM section because there are elements of racial gaslighting at play.) The Conversation

How and when will we have a covid-19 vaccine? ASAP Science

Sarah Newey and Paul Nuki explain how the pandemic set global development back 25 years in 25 weeks. The Telegraph

Sophie Haigney: the pandemic is transforming how Americans use public libraries, parks, and streets—and it’s depriving vulnerable people of space when they need it most. Insider

Minda Zetlin shares five habits that will help you stay focused all day and Traci Stein explains why they work. (To help with covid brain.) Inc.

Why do we dream? Amy Adkins | TED-Ed

Nina Totenberg reports on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, champion of gender equality, at 87. NPR

Hope Reese interviews Noam Chomsky about his new book: there’s reason for hope. JSTOR Daily

Nadia Drake: possible sign of life on Venus stirs heated debate. National Geographic

Jonathan Amos wonders, will private firms win the race to Venus? BBC

Dark matter is even stranger than we thought. SciShow Space

Ian Bogost: your phone wasn’t built for the apocalypse. The Atlantic

Rachel Lovell explains how nanoclay turns desert into farmland in the UAE. BBC

Enjoy some frissons musicale with this Pentatonix cover of Tears for Fears’ Mad World.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you’re able to take away something to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 6-12, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, a convenient way to research, inspire creative Ideas (what I call popping your mental corn), learn something cool, or otherwise support your creativity.

For the past several months, I’ve isolated posts related to anti-racism and the pandemic for your convenience.

Dani McClain shares some advice on how to talk to kids about racism and police violence. The Atlantic

Gabriela Fowler explains what it feels like to “pass as white” when you’re mixed race. Buzzfeed

How the death of George Floyd sparked a street art movement. The Smithsonian Magazine

Daniel King shares Ashima Yadava’s portraits of survival. Mother Jones

Rebecca Renner explains why every year—especially 2020—feels like the worst year ever. Doomscrolling, anyone? Anyone? Beuller? National Geographic

Why is it so hard to remember things right now? SciShow Psych

Eleanor Cummins says, the office will never be the same. Popular Science

Alexandra Jones: Jessica Meir returned from the ISS to a pandemic-ridden Earth. The Face

Tammy Chen is a dentist who’s seeing more cracked teeth. How is that connected to the pandemic? The New York Times

The biggest lie about renewable energy. ASAP Science

Paul Vallely explains how philanthropy benefits the super-rich. The Guardian

Alan Yuhas reveals that Roanoake’s “lost colony” was never lost (according to a new book). The New York times

Kat Lonsdorf revisits Fukushima: the ghost towns behind the gates. NPR

Amber Dance considers experiments on mice in space and how they’ll keep human bone and muscle strong on the ISS. Knowable

Gerardo Carrillo: “mammoth central” found at Mexican airport construction site. The Washington Post

Sarah Bahr announces that the Met will hire its first full-time Native American curator. The New York Times

Thanks for visiting and I hope you took away something to support your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 15-21, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s Boxing Day! I got up early this morning to go shopping (my once annual spree) and am now ensconced for our family get together. Take some time to get your mental corn popping with these thought provoking (or just plain fun) links.

Juli Fraga wants to help you conquer your social anxiety over the holidays. NPR

Lisa Wood Shapiro recounts her quest for clean air. Wired

Andrea Romano explains how long you should take off work to feel productive again. Travel and Leisure

Matthew Gault: the best optical illusion of the year will mess with your head. Vice

Alexandra Ossola: can algae save the planet by changing the way we eat? Quartz

Jaymi Heimbuch shares macro photos of snowflakes that reveal impossibly perfect designs. Treehugger

PBS Space Time considers the validity of cosmological natural selection (i.e. that black holes create new universes).

The fuzzy origins of the giant panda. PBS Eons

Chris Baraniuk: corvids could be the smartest animals other than primates. BBC

Joshua Rapp Learn explains why birds sing to their eggs and how these songs might help their offspring survive climate change. Smithsonian Magazine

Find out all about Leonard, the mudskipper, with Ze Frank.

Thank you for taking time out of the holiday whirlwind to stop by and peruse the offerings.

Until next week, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories 🙂

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 9-15, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

A good mix of inspirational, research-y, and learning stuff this week.

Patti Neighmond: can you reshape your brain’s response to pain? NPR

Zaria Gorvett explores how modern life is transforming the human skeleton. BBC

Mike MacEacheran looks at what unicorns mean to Scottish identity. BBC

Johny Pitts’ Afropean captures the experience of black women in Europe. Refinery29

Phoebe Wood debunks eight myths about bisexuals/pansexuals (and their representation) in honour of Pride Month.

Cara Anna reports that Botswana decriminalized gay sex in a landmark case. “More than two dozen countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws criminalizing gay sex, often holdovers from colonial times.” AP

ASAP Science wants to find out what would happen if we burned all our garbage.

Andrew Freedman writes a special report on our plastic planet. Axios

Rachel Love Nuwer considers the planet’s other imperiled elephants. In his book, Giants of the Monsoon Forest, Jacob Shell explores the ancient, mutually beneficial alliance between Asian elephants and their human neighbors. UnDark

Because tardigrades. Thomas Boothby, TED-Ed.

I hope something here got your mental corn popping.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, May 19-25, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Jon Hamilton: how the brain shapes pain and links ouch with emotion. NPR

Eric Barker shares FBI behaviourist Robin Dreeke’s seven tips to get people to like you. The Ladders

SciShow Space news considers Pluto’s ocean and MU 69 (the snowman-looking asteroid New Horizons passed in January).

 

Eddie King says that learning Morse code is still a valuable skill, even in the 21st century. Quartz

Nicole Javorsky tells the tale of how David Romero is bringing new life to Frank Lloyd Wright’s lost designs. CityLab

‘Cause Imogen. Telemiscommunications

 

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

thoughtythursday2016