Author: Michelle Korhonen
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here.The theme of my second-annual Breakthroughs of the Year is the long road of progress. My top breakthrough is Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle-cell anemia. In the 1980s and early 1990s, scientists in Spain and Japan found strange, repeating patterns in the DNA of certain bacteria. Researchers eventually linked these sequences to an immune defense system that they named “clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats”—or CRISPR. In the following decades, scientists found clever ways to build on CRISPR to…
Take a close look at Donald Trump—the lavishness of his homes, the buildings emblazoned with his name and adorned with gold accoutrements, his insistent ego, even the degree of obeisance he evokes among his followers—and, despite the fervent support he receives from many evangelical Christians, it’s hard to avoid concluding that there’s something a little pagan about the man. Or consider Elon Musk. With his drive to conquer space to expand the human empire, his flirtation with anti-Semitic tropes, his 10 children with three different women, Musk embodies the wealth worship and ideological imperialism of ego that are more than…
Dear Therapist,I’m in a new long-distance relationship with a man I was with in our early 20s (we are now 38 and 40). I plan to move out of state to be with him in a few months. Things have gotten very intense very quickly—something we have both been aware of and are okay with.However, he has an ex whom he broke up with about a year and a half ago. Their breakup was tumultuous. When she came up in conversation about a month ago, I asked, “If things had gone differently that night, do you think you’d still be…
This Christmas season, I have been reflecting on the words of my favorite author, C. S. Lewis, who once observed: “I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.”Speaking about American evangelicalism was never my intention. Having grown up steeped in Christianity’s right-wing subculture—the son of a megachurch minister, a follower of Jesus, someone who self-identified as “evangelical” since childhood—I was a reliable defender of the faith. I rejected the caricatures of people like my parents. I took offense at efforts to mock and marginalize evangelicals. I tried to…
In the New Year, both the NHL and NCAA will discuss making neck guards for hockey players mandatory. That’s after the death of hockey players injured in games the last two years.
Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Color Purple, was a serious-minded prestige drama. The film simplified the story but faithfully rendered the book’s emotional weight through Spielberg’s vibrant direction, Quincy Jones’s sweeping score, and a strong ensemble cast. The movie became a classic that, despite notoriously failing to win any of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for, made more than five times its budget at the box office, inspired a Tony-winning Broadway musical, and made stars of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.That’s a high bar for the new The Color Purple, in theaters today,…
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Nov. 8, in Des Moines. Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption toggle caption Charlie Neibergall/AP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on Nov. 8, in Des Moines. Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with…
Lizzie: The Yuletide Blues are a real thing. Elvis had them. Charlie Brown had them. Tim Allen had them in Christmas With the Kranks and in The Santa Clause (during his custody battle). And that’s why we host holiday parties: to shoo away the blues until New Year’s, at which point we party again.When we last left you, I mentioned that I was planning a tiki-inspired holiday party. The whole thing came to fruition last weekend, minus the fruit tower and the shrimp luge. (It was really quite difficult, veering on impossible, to find a full-body pineapple in Brooklyn in…
What are the “5 Things to Know About Mycoplasma Pneumoniae”? Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a bacterium that can cause respiratory illness, including pneumonia. Here are five key facts about Mycoplasma pneumoniae:Symptoms: Typical symptoms of Mycoplasma infection include fever, cough, bronchitis, sore throat, headache, and tiredness. It can also cause “walking pneumonia,” which is usually mild and rarely requires hospitalization. Infections of the middle ear (otitis media) can also result.Who is Affected: Anyone can get the disease, but it most often affects older children and young adults. Mycoplasma infections occur sporadically throughout the year, with widespread community outbreaks also possible. The infection…
Visiting Santa at a busy mall can be overwhelming for some autistic kids, but sensory-friendly events can make it easier. Hundreds of those events are held across the country.