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Despite being honored by the Smithsonian Institution as "the foremost black gospel songwriter in the United States", and being inducted into the Nashville Gospel Music Hall of Fame, "Nobody talks much about Doris Akers, or even gives her credit for her considerable part in shaping Post-War gospel music composition." (PDF) [more inside]
posted by clawsoon at 8:22 PM PST - 2 comments

And in the end: inside the heartbreak, the brotherhood, and why the Beatles' music still matters. (Rolling Stone) [more inside]
posted by blue shadows at 7:31 PM PST - 38 comments

Urban ethnographers do more harm than good in speaking for Black communities. They see only suffering, not diversity or joy. [...] Too many sociologists treat their carefully crafted representations of reality as fact, rather than fact-like.

Dr. Robyn Autry on Sociology's Race Problem.
posted by Rumple at 5:29 PM PST - 3 comments

"There used to be parties in the apartments on the top floors of New York City’s branch libraries. " When the Carnegie Libraries were built, the buildings required caretakers, until modernization meant that live-in furnace-minders were no longer needed. Surprisingly for New York City, the apartments were left empty, or used for storage, though with space at a premium, they're starting to be used again.
posted by kalimac at 5:20 PM PST - 15 comments

CBC journalist Aaron Wherry looks at Canadian politics through the lens of Somewheres and Anywheres. [more inside]
posted by sardonyx at 11:40 AM PST - 56 comments

Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line interactive NYT piece. [more inside]
posted by theora55 at 11:19 AM PST - 117 comments

Love him or hate him, but he's playing Flim on drums blind.
posted by saladin at 11:13 AM PST - 7 comments

Daveed Diggs has a new single about getting everything he ever wantedkah: a Puppy for Hanukkah.
posted by ChuraChura at 9:37 AM PST - 33 comments

Oaxacans, Mormons, And A Bag Of Chips: A Brief History Of The Walking Taco (Heavy Table): You might as well know, right at the outset, that Alice Waters does not approve of walking tacos. [...] But I can’t help but wince at her broader critique: “As perfect a symbol of a broken culture as I can imagine.” Because while a walking taco may not be, like, good for you in a nutritionist-approved way, if you look at the deeper cultural perspective, it turns out there’s much to savor—it’s less about how things fall apart than how they come together.
posted by not_the_water at 8:01 AM PST - 62 comments

An Australian team has a combined robot on tracks and drone team for cave exploration Sometimes it's more competent on its own, sometimes the human operators do better. It's not just that it can cover terrain (like steep slippery slopes) that people can't, its navigation skills are sometimes excellent. [more inside]
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 5:32 AM PST - 11 comments

“Tell me your name and the name of your cloud and I'll send you a photo of your personal cloud from the skies above my home.” Name your own cloud, and check out the gallery of clouds others have named, like “Dustbunny”, “Floaty Friend”, and “Bartholomew.”
posted by wesleyac at 4:39 AM PST - 15 comments

Situated in the centre of Rhayader [Mid-Wales] is one of the oldest businesses in the town- Hafod Hardware. The shop is a traditional old fashioned ironmongers with wooden flooring and walls and ceiling lined in pine. "The shop is not 'Open All Hours', but we have been open since 1895." [more inside]
posted by Thella at 2:54 AM PST - 9 comments