Here’s a story about a foolish woman. It begins in March. She's just gone into isolation at home because a pandemic is raging. She spends a lot of time sewing, because she finds it a calming activity. She is also calmed by a glass of wine at the end of the day. She has an idea: She will mark this strange month (or two? three, tops) by saving both the empty thread spools and the wine corks, and then she will have a physical, personal record of this strange and scary global event. 

Except... the pandemic timeline does not go as hoped, and neither does the spool-to-cork ratio. Months go by. There are, like, three spools and a heaping handful of corks. Also, wine and sewing? When did she get so old?! Why is everything terrible!?! She decides to stop hoarding her trash.

The End.

Or rather, not the end. On and on it goes, at least for those of us who live in failed states. I have found myself almost angrily resistant to questions like "How will we all be different when this is over?" None of my expectations or predictions for the "during" have really panned out. Why would the "after" be any different?

In the now, at least we have books. On CYG today, our guest is Zadie Smith (!!!), who has a new essay collection about the pandemic experience. I can't wait to read it. And Aminatou and I are in ELLE with a piece about how friendships can survive physical distance.

What happens when non-Black people drape themselves in the trappings of Black culture online, and what it means to document Black history when the official record falls short. How a sacred object from the Pueblo of Acoma turned up at a Paris auction house. How Republicans gutted the biggest voting rights victory in recent history. How Biden has botched his VP pick. A reporter injured in the Beirut blast on how strangers treated her like a friend. An incarcerated journalist documents the prison's COVID outbreak from the inside, and why overcrowded living conditions have defined virus hotspots. A man's death in Baltimore police custody shows the cops' inability to investigate themselves. "What jobs did your parents work to get you where you are today?" Child-free people do know how hard it's been for parents during the pandemic—and that's why many of them are happy without children. Sarah Schulman on managing the fraught encounters of our era of discontent. The end of "lone genius" culture in restaurant kitchens. The global reach of Burna Boy, the activism of Hiroshima bombing survivor Setsuko Thurlow, and the get-it-done practicality of Congresswoman Katie Porter. What happens to the fashion industry now that no one has a reason to dress up? Who gets to criticize Beyoncé? Where do Black people show up on Seinfeld? It’s time to dispel the myth of the strong Black woman, for good. How time warps "fix" women on tv. Protecting street vendors, playing music for houseplants, and reviving an extinct cheese. "Insinuation anxiety," or the fear of suggesting that other people are untrustworthy.

This pun-laden pie is free, courtesy of this newsletter's paying members. If you are one, thank you! If you're not, and you would like to support this email you open every single Friday, you can join them for just $5/year. 

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A video explainer of the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Feels Good Man, a documentary about how the Internet transformed a cartoon frog into a symbol of hate. ChoreTV. Transgender spiritual histories. A narrative graphic about Russian elections during the pandemic. And I know I've mentioned it already, but I'm learning so much from the Nice White Parents podcast. 

via the US National Archives on giphy

This week was the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which transformed Black Americans' access to the ballot. The law has been so thoroughly gutted over the years that there's a Senate bill to restore it, which could use the support of every politician who tweeted a John Lewis tribute. 

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Getting involved in U.S. politics, beyond the presidential race. Two ways:

- Investing in a state-level race. Start with your own state, of course. But if you want to look beyond, Sister District makes it easy. I was thrilled to see activist Cori Bush won her Missouri primary this week. (Here's more about her.) And next week, I am one of the co-hosts of a virtual event in support of two U.S. Senate candidates from Georgia, Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock. Georgia is the only state with both U.S. Senate seats on the ballot in November, and it really should be considered a battleground. The virtual event is Thursday, Aug 13 at 7pm ET. Click here to RSVP. (Donation requested but not required.)

- Making sure all your people have filled out their Census forms. A whopping 40% of U.S. households have yet to be counted, and this administration is very happy about that. They're closing the collection period early, on Sept. 30.  If you want to understand what's at stake, I found this explainer helpful. 

Monday is our last virtual book event for awhile...

Aug 10 - In conversation with Teen Vogue executive editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay, sponsored by Girls' Night In and Politics & Prose. 8pm ET.

If you've missed our events, you can listen to lots of interviews with me and Aminatou about Big Friendship here.