Art by @susdraws

Written by Crystal Duan

This week, we’re documenting new strides we’re making to live in a more interconnected society, even while pain and confusion abound around us.

What we’re checking out…

In the wake of the Texas ban on abortions after six weeks, one of the most extreme in US history, many Americans are now terrified for their reproductive rights, as Rolling Stone and other outlets detail. Foreign Policy also outlines what actually happens to a country that bans abortions, and Fortune has a piece on why businesses aren’t speaking up about this.

Want to figure out the work-oversharing professional balance? Try this Harvard Business Review breakdown of the best way to have boundaries at your job.

The pandemic did improve one thing in the workforce: meetings. Read a compelling observational account of that here.

Feeling devastated/confused/uneasy about the crisis in Afghanistan too? This Vox summary of the conflict can help clarify. Also read this account by Zarlasht Halaimzai about what may happen to all who seek refuge after — from her perspective fleeing to Britain as a child. “No one wants pity when they’ve experienced the humiliation of violence,” she writes. “What they needed was for people to try to understand.” Here are ways you can take action to help the cause. 

Art by @roctothorpe

Fast Company points out that social connection is an essential driver to our well-being — and that it’s disappearing, so what are we to do now? 

The New York Times reports on how young black New York City residents are skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the consequences of only 28 percent being vaccinated.

Most Americans who buy guns hope to use it for good, even though the reality is often the opposite. The Atlantic breaks down a way to persuade such citizens to give up their guns.

With climate change pending, this New Yorker profile on landscape architect Kate Orff and her ambitious mission to use oysters to protect coastal cities is a must read. 

Put on your headphones — our reFRESHing Talk of the Week is this podcast episode of Down to the Struts with advocate, educator and attorney Lydia X.Z. Brown, who explains how algorithmic discrimination is rampant and has consequences for marginalized groups, including people of color and disabled people.i

The latest from our speakers…

Art by @celiajacobs

Simran Jeet Singh sounded off in the Washington Post on the hypocrisy of condemning the Taliban regime in Afghanistan when we have our own issues in our country to address.

Chloe McKenzie was recently named an Ashoka Fellow and honored with a stipend as one of the nonprofit’s top leading social entrepreneurs of 2021.

Mychal Denzel Smith wrote on how he embraced sexual fluidity through admiring the late singer Aaliyah in Harper’s Bazaar US.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay was interviewed for The Cut on the etymology of the “girlboss”, and what that trope has meant for women.

Ai-jen Poo will be on a live Zoom panel to discuss the future of the CARE movement on Sept 7. Register now here. 

Veronica Chambers‘ new book, Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter, just released on Aug. 17 and is the perfect pictorial and explanatory guide to the iconic movement. 

Susan McPherson will be on Meetup Live on Sept. 9 for a discussion on how to build meaningful connections by going back to the basics. Register here.

Aisha Nyandoro broke down the issues that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program fails to address in Newsweek.