The sundress discourse, near-death experiences, and more

Hello! 

Here in New York, at long last it truly feels like summer. I’m taking meandering evening walks in the park, I’m bankrupting myself buying the nice strawberries from the farmer’s market, and best of all, I’m trying to slow down and lean into the languidness. I’m a little sticky, but I am happy. To me, summer means taking the time to really chew over things — to not just scan the headlines in the morning for the TLDR and scroll late into the night, but to really focus my attention on things that matter.

At Vox — where we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary with a snazzy new membership program (among other initiatives) — my colleagues gave me no shortage of interesting ideas, insights and analysis to sink my teeth into this week. From a brilliant dissection of the sundress discourse to a masterful package on climate change and reproductive health, these stories are ones that stayed with me long after I put them down. Let me show you a few favorites that I think are worth your time too. 

—Naureen Khan, senior editor for culture and features

A new strategy to house homeless people

I admit to being one of the people in senior reporter Rachel Cohen’s story that “sigh[s] regretfully” about the problem of homelessness that has bedeviled so many American cities and caused untold human suffering. Rachel explores a solution that rejects “both the idea that homeless people belong in jail, or should be allowed to camp wherever they feel most comfortable,” and has successfully moved people from encampments to housing, with crucial buy-in from landlords themselves. The program is, of course, not without its wrinkles or detractors, as Rachel explains in her piece. 

Expecting worse: Giving birth in a climate in crisis

Vox partnered with Grist and the 19th on an extraordinary package on how the world’s changing climate profoundly affects reproductive health for millions of people around the world. The picture that’s emerging of the unique risks and dangers to those who can bear children is not pretty. One particularly compelling standout: this piece that looks at the disturbing link between saltwater consumption (caused by the creep of seawater further and further inland) and pregnancy complications.

One explanation for the 2024’s election biggest mystery

Does thinking about the presidential election, which is now T-minus six months away, give anyone else a low-grade stomach ache? Just me? For your neighborhood friendly culture editor, it feels especially difficult to know what to make of ~all of this~ when so many of the storylines read as a rinse-and-repeat from our last go-around. My colleague Eric Levitz breaks through with a theory on one of the more baffling trends of 2024: why Biden is losing ground with young and nonwhite voters. Hint: it’s not anything as straightforward as his age or even the increasingly catastrophic war in Gaza.

🎧 The science of near-death experiences 

Well, this is new nightmare fuel! Former war reporter, documentarian, and author Sebastian Junger had an aneurysm in his pancreatic artery (adding this to my list of ways I would not like to go) and almost died. While the doctors were trying to stick a needle into his jugular vein, his deceased father floated above him, in some sort of energy form. Junger survived but as a “rationalist with questions”... he had questions. In this episode of The Gray Area, Junger and host Sean Illing discuss the limits of science in explaining near-death phenomenon, with just the lightest dash of mysticism.  

How to care for the people in your life with intellectual disabilities

I’m biased because I have the pleasure of editing her, but health reporter extraordinaire Keren Landman is so deft at breaking down extremely (and sometimes willfully) complicated systems. Certainly, the subject of her latest piece — the fractured support system for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities — is complex, presenting a number of both emotional and logistical challenges for millions of families who have a loved one with IDD. Here, she has a practical guide for anyone, like her, who is managing their care.

The sundress discourse, explained

Do you ever just, like, miss a discourse? I actually had no idea that this was a whole Thing until internet reporter extraordinaire Rebecca Jennings brought to my attention that every summer, we apparently debate what a sundress even is, with wildly varying answers. Her piece takes a look at this seasonal hot topic and explains what on earth it has to do with the male gaze (which, yes, ruins everything, even a pretty little floral print dress).

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