The impossibility of blue M&Ms, the latest on Matthew, and Weekend Whats...
You wanted your candy to come in colors from every corner of the rainbow. And you had good reason. Your brain is pretty good at turning those colors into flavors. So the candy makers gave you what you wanted. And then you changed the rules and told them you wanted those colors to be derived from natural sources (because if there’s one thing that can improve our health, it’s more natural Skittles). So now the candy makers are responding to your demands. But it’s not easy. As one exec explains: “This is the most complex technical undertaking that any of us have ever seen in the history of the company.” From the NYT Magazine, Brand New Hue: The Quest to Make a True Blue M&M.
Premature Congratulation?
Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos was just awarded the Nobel peace prize for the work he did to end the 52-year war between the government and FARC. The award comes a few days after Columbians rejected the plan in a referendum.
+ From the AP: How Colombia’s conflict evolved over decades.
Weekend Whats
What to Binge: A six-episode British series call Fleabag, starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Starts off funny. Gets more poignant. But stays funny.
+ What to Doc: Amanda Knox on Netflix. It’s rare that a documentary villain speaks openly and without really realizing he’s the villain. Nick Pisa, a journalist who covered the case, pretty much gives us that gift in this doc.
+ What to Hear: Last night I was lucky enough to get to see Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats in a small venue where they were supporting a phenomenal Bay Area poverty-fighting organization called the Tipping Point. I think of the them as the tightest bar band of all time. You can see them in concert here. Or if you’re in the mood for something a little more acoustic, they did a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR not too long ago.
+ What to Podcast: “It’s almost a religious belief in the rapture, but a secular monetary version of it.” Understanding the anger and despair among some working class whites with some help from J.D. Vance, Arlie Hochschild, and Bonnie Jo Campbell.
L-4, L-5, You Sank My Battleship
“People all over the world increasingly live long, great lives, only to spend their golden years slathered in IcyHot.” The Atlantic explains how back pain took over the world.
+ “Nearly half of prime age NLF [not-in-the-labor-force] men take pain medication on a daily basis, and in two-thirds of cases, they take prescription pain medication.” From Bloomberg: Why Are So Many Men Not Working? They’re in Pain.
The Book on Matthew
While hundreds of thousands are without power and damage is being done, Hurricane Matthew hasn’t hit Florida as hard as some worried it would. But it’s still a big storm and the danger isn’t past. Here’s the latest from CNN.
+ Some US cities are getting lucky. Haiti never seems to get lucky. And the post-Matthew crisis there is deepening. The Haitian death toll is approaching 500, and many areas are still not reachable.
+ Vox: Why do some people never evacuate for a hurricane? (Maybe we shouldn’t give so much cable news airtime to people who refuse to evacuate during storms. It incentivizes bad decisions.)
+ If nothing else, driving towards a hurricane is a hell of way to avoid traffic.
The Central Park Lie
“They admitted they were guilty. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous.” Donald Trump still clings to the idea that the Central Park Five were guilty. As wildly wrong as that position is, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. Here’s a look back at Amy Davidson’s piece on Donald Trump And The Central Park Five. (I swear I planned to take a Friday off from politics, but every time I get out, he pulls me back in…)
+ If you’ve never seen Ken Burns documentary on the Central Park Five, do so now.
+ Donald Trump could make history as the first major candidate with zero big newspaper endorsements. (Maybe the media’s not so bad…)
+ Rudy Giuliani’s daughter is voting for Hillary. (Maybe Millennials aren’t so bad…)
Putinbox Zero
“We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.” The U.S. government has officially accused Russia of hacking the DNC to interfere with elections
Words for the Win
News publishers have spent a lot of time shifting to video. But according to Pew, it turns out that younger adults prefer to get their news in text format. Who would have guessed?
Embarknado
“He says he will set off from Tokyo in April 2017 and — conditions and sharks willing — arrive in San Francisco five to six months later. He hopes the swim will raise awareness of environmental issues.” Benoit Lecomte plans to swim across the Pacific. Before you make any judgment on the likelihood of such a feat, you should know he already swam across the Atlantic (a trip during which he was followed by a shark for five days).
Bottom of the News
“Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution says that electors are appointed “in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct” — in other words, they have some latitude in picking these guys.” In Vice, Mike Pearl looks at what would happen if we all decided not to vote.
+ Boston Globe: Never come between an 81-year-old and her marijuana plant. (In that case, feel free to call me Granny.)
+ This iPhone hack can help you put an end to the ducking autocorrect problem.
