"Whether you’re sweating it out during a heat wave, firmly planted in front of your air conditioner, sprawled out on a beach, or cowering inside during an unexpected thunderstorm, we think most summer experiences are enhanced by a good book." Read more in our newsletter: mailchi.mp/conversation...

This is a fantastic read!

Welcome back to our artist series where we highlight talented artists across the globe (many of whom we’ve worked with!). Meet Tim Enthoven, whose art builds a world between order and chaos.

In the wake of the recent murders committed by ICE, looking to the people on the ground showing up for their neighbors has never been more crucial. In their own words, here’s how people in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Los Angeles are still showing up in the fight against ICE.

Staff Reads from our Executive Director: "Gardening can teach us so much about our lives. Like how we must do a creative dance with the environmental forces we can’t control, and how the surface doesn’t always tell us what’s happening deep down. Thank you Parker J. Palmer for this reflection. 🍅"

Your vacation is booked, but what about your summer read? Nine books recommended by our staff, whether you’re going on a trip or just trying to avoid the heat. 📚

Very powerful:

Look for the helpers

I really enjoyed working on this piece about the Whistle Crew for @conversationalist.org! So many good people out there doing the work in these troubled times.

“The news cycle has moved on. We have not.” In their own words, how people in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Los Angeles are still showing up for their neighbors in the fight against ICE.

Convo Reads @propublica.org: "Inside a women’s prison, a domestic violence victim began collecting others’ stories of abuse. 156 women answered her call. Together, they became 'survivor sisters' — and helped shape a new law offering them a path toward freedom. But would it work?"

What does an intersectional feminist future look like to you?

This is a wonderful article about what the Whistle Crew is doing to sustain and create community. It describes them as "whimsical and deeply serious" and somehow the article itself also manages to be both. Great work, @conversationalist.org!

"It’s a cliché to say America is a nation of immigrants, and not an entirely true one—it skates right over the indigenous inhabitants of this land, past and present, and the enslaved people who were forcibly brought to these shores." Read more in our newsletter: mailchi.mp/conversation...

Welcome to the whistle rebellion. Such an uplifting article.

Really appreciate this piece and also @sesmith.lol recognizing & reinforcing that while Courtney and I have been very visible, this was always a team effort. And the Whistle Crew just donated hundreds of items to @romancingthevote.com and raised $1000s for voting rights. Community escalates. 💖

This awesome piece is about probably the most visible whistle crew but if you read this & are now wondering how to get involved: start with your local mutual aid groups!! There are *so many* groups out there working quietly to get whistles out locally in pretty much every community right now. ✨

"The original makerspaces were sites of women’s “craft” & housework, such as sewing circles...enabling women to teach each other skills, perform tasks together & access equipment and other resources too expensive to afford individually—all of which is echoed in how the Whistle Crew operates today."

Staff Reads from our Contributing Editor: "This masterfully weaves through the politics and culture of wellness, capitalism, and justice as it pertains to Israel, Palestine and the latest genocide. More than anything else, the essay invites the reader to (re)consider the tentacles of hypocrisy."

Some grassroots making & logistics goodness here to start your day! Not in this piece, but in talking with @sesmith.lol I was happy to discover that I'm far from alone in being a 2020 mask sewist who's now taken up 3D printing. #DHmakes

Heyyyyyyyy

Thank you so, so much to all of the people who talked to me for this piece, including those who spoke off-record or on background. I hope I did all of you justice!

Across the United States, activists and organizers are 3D printing whistles, one of the most surprisingly effective weapons against ICE. So far, they’ve distributed over 1.5 million of them. Story by @sesmith.lol.

As of 2020, only 5% of healthcare-related research and development efforts are targeted specifically at women’s health issues. "It’s time we reclaim some control and fund the damn research ourselves," writes @careyjones.bsky.social.

👀 good article

"In a culture where trans and disabled people are medical problems to be solved, thereby erasing them from society, working in solidarity with each other is extremely important, and is the best way forward in a hostile climate that uses medicalization as a tool of power and control."—@sesmith.lol

Writer Spotlight: Kovie Biakolo 🔆 Kovie is a journalist, editor (our Contributing Editor, actually), and multiculturalism scholar specializing in culture and identity. In her latest story, she writes about how Nigerians refuse to sacrifice art at the altar of the country’s plethora of problems.

The anti-fracking nanas are back! What a delight to see my @conversationalist.org story republished in @msmagazine.com

Here are some stories you should give a sh*t about: 💥 Where Nigeria’s Potential Meets Its Reality 💥 How To Quit Doomscrolling When the World Is on Fire 💥 How to Present as Female During End Times 💥 “All the Horrors Imaginable” 💥 Book of the Month: “Don’t Let It Kill You” Links below ⬇️

Staff Reads from Executive Editor @ginamei.bsky.social: "Journalist @vauhinivara.bsky.social’s recent breakdown of a global AI writing scandal and its aftermath is an absolute must-read."

"We all think about dying. But sometimes, what gets us to the other side is finding something that helps us make sense of living." The book of the month is “Don’t Let It Kill You” by Theo LeGro, a collection of poetry that is raw but exacting; sumptuous and sharp; tender and devastating.

Staff Reads from Newsletter Editor @mrsslrss.bsky.social: "Pride is a perfect time to think about community, legacy, and all kinds of families. In that spirit, I loved Peyton Dix's reflection on her grandmother's queerness, and how it created a template for her own."

It's been 4 years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. We're looking back on its initial impact and how it affected more than just the U.S. (and continues to do so).

One of my few pure joys in life is finding weird things and sharing them with people! I love it so much that I actually wrote about it for @conversationalist.org lol

Convo Reads from @motherjones.com: "Like the Strait of Hormuz, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has exposed the limits of American power: President Trump is also losing his war against algae."

What inspires your creativity the most?

"The growing anti-trans narrative wasn’t just a culture war skirmish, it was a symptom of something deeper and more dangerous: a coordinated effort to undermine democratic norms by turning vulnerable groups into political targets."

"Engaging with collective power, it turns out, can be a powerful antidote to despair—whether that means learning about those who have made change before us, or getting involved in our communities here and now." Read more in our newsletter: mailchi.mp/conversation...

“Seeing the cultural and artistic production of Nigerians once again revived my belief that hope must be a practice.” Kovie Biakolo on how Nigeria’s artists continue on despite the country's plethora of problems.

“It’s easy to forget when looking at it through the nostalgic lens that often filters our view of the era, but American fast food was also born in the aftermath of war.” Story by @alexcpark.com.

Staff Reads from our Social Media Manager: "As Japan faces issues with an ongoing influx of elderly patients, the country has gotten creative to fill the demand for new care workers: hiring bodybuilders, wrestlers, and professional fighters. That's one way to solve a crisis!"

Founder @alindguzik.bsky.social's thoughts on AI:

Convo Reads from @msmagazine.com: "In states where the death penalty remains legal, critics warn that these laws could theoretically expose people who obtain abortions to capital punishment."

Pashmina (a shawl made of cashmere wool) has become synonymous with Kashmir’s identity. And the women of the region have been an integral part of shaping the industry for centuries. However, over time, the art of making them by hand has been in decline, but Zaevyul is trying to change that.

Book of the Month: “Don’t Let It Kill You” by Theo LeGro In March, the queer Vietnamese-American poet Theo LeGro died. In June, their book was published. "Writers who die young often seem to leave behind the most prolific thoughts on life, and Theo was no exception," writes @ginamei.bsky.social.

Over the past two years, reporter Sara Cincurova has been speaking to women across Ukraine about a harrowing but deeply important topic: conflict-related sexual violence perpetrated during Russia’s ongoing war. These are their stories.

And this ode to the FYP and defense of, and case for, preserving the weird internet on @conversationalist.org.

To quit doomscrolling, queer journalist @emilychudy.bsky.social turned to LGBTQIA+ history for hope. "If just one story could stir a hope I hadn’t experienced in years, what might learning about others do?"

Convo Reads: "Humanity is not the custodian of creation. Indeed, we’re often the followers, chasing other animals and learning how to navigate their worlds, which we then think of as our own." @nautil.us on beaver nations.

"You no longer have to be somebody to look embalmed. Seeing forehead movement sometimes feels as quaint as modem dial-up sounds, and not only amongst celebrities or in the society pages, but amongst anyone—from coworkers to MILFs in your area."