Shouldering the Load

Male Birth Control, Birkenstock Market

Aside from vasectomies and condoms, birth control has been left up to women. But that could change as advances are made in the realm of male birth control. The latest advance is not a pill, but rather a gel. And (sadly for some) it's not applied where you might imagine. "The 5 milliliter hormonal gel is applied once daily and split between the shoulder blades. The gel’s segesterone acetate component, which is a synthetic progesterone, suppresses hormones needed to maintain testosterone concentrations in the testes, which is where sperm are made, thereby inhibiting sperm production. The testosterone component in this two-part combination ensures that testosterone levels essential for male physiological processes and health are maintained at stable levels." WaPo (Gift Article): Male birth control gel shows promise in early-stage clinical trials.

+ That's the science story. But as you know, there's also a political story. And for some red state officials, ending Roe was only the beginning. Contraception is next. For example, "Republican lawmakers in Missouri blocked a bill to widen access to birth-control pills by falsely claiming they induce abortions. An antiabortion group in Louisiana killed legislation to enshrine a right to birth control by inaccurately equating emergency contraception with abortion drugs. An Idaho think tank focused on “biblical activism” is pushing state legislators to ban access to emergency contraception and intrauterine devices (IUDs) by mislabeling them as 'abortifacients.'" WaPo (Gift Article): Conservative attacks on birth control could threaten access.

+ Senate Democrats are pushing a bill to protect birth control. The effort is less about actually passing the legislation (which looks like a long shot) and more about getting the GOP on record opposing birth control (which is remarkably popular). US Senate to hold vote on protecting birth control. In other news, it's 2024, folks.

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Dome and Domer

With much of the west under our first heat dome of the summer(just in time for outdoor graduations!), we might have to get used to the feeling. UN chief says world is on ‘highway to climate hell’ as planet endures 12 straight months of unprecedented heat.

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Lock, Birkenstock, and Two Smoking Sandals

"When Christian Birkenstock hired Reichert in 2009, the family business was in disarray, with stagnating sales and no coherent plan for the future. After their domineering father, Karl, stepped back years earlier, Christian and Alex—then in their late 30s and early 40s, respectively—began fighting with their older brother, Stephan, for creative control. It had been more than a decade since the public had fawned over Birkenstocks, and suddenly upstarts such as Crocs were jolting a category long relegated to stoners, geriatrics and German tourists." But it turns out a 250 year-old company can learn new tricks (with the help of a new CEO and an IPO). Bloomberg (Gift Article): The Ballad of Birkenstock. It's remarkable the extent to which this brand identity has changed over the years. My son is wearing his right now.

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Roids Are All The Rage

"Someone in your life is using performance-enhancing drugs. I feel comfortable making that bet because I recently discovered how many people in my life are using performance-enhancing drugs. Maybe your dad scored human growth hormone at an 'anti-aging' clinic. Maybe the woman you met on Hinge just ordered her first 'peptide stack.' It’s definitely the middle-aged white dude at work who calls you brother, who takes beta blockers before presentations—the same guy who texted you about T, testosterone, a.k.a. test, because he copped a vial off a friend and bro, things were wild, he felt crazy, like he could reply to a thousand emails while running through a wall. Brother, you need to check this shit out asap." The always-excellent Rosecrans Baldwin in GQ: Why Is Everyone on Steroids Now?

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Extra, Extra

Boys to Men: "Men have had way more than their fair share of our concern already, the reasoning goes, and now it’s time for them to pipe down. But for boys, privilege and harm intertwine in complex ways — male socialization is a strangely destructive blend of indulgence and neglect. Under patriarchy, boys and men get everything, except the thing that’s most worth having: human connection." An interesting look at modern boyhood (and modern loneliness) from Ruth Whippman in the NYT (Gift Article): Boys Get Everything, Except the Thing That’s Most Worth Having. "I have spent the last few years talking to boys as research for my new book, as well as raising my own three sons, and I have come to believe the conditions of modern boyhood amount to a perfect storm for loneliness."

+ Flight Status: "On a Wednesday afternoon in August, Daniel Posada and his girlfriend were screaming at each other at a bus stop when someone called 911. From a rooftop a mile away, the Chula Vista Police Department started the rotors of a 13-pound drone. The machine lifted into the air with its high-resolution camera rolling. Equipped with thermal imaging capabilities and a powerful zoom lens, it transmitted a live feed of everything it captured to a sworn officer monitoring a screen at the precinct, to the department’s Real-Time Operations Center, and to the cell phone of the responding officer racing to the scene." Wired: Welcome to the age of drone police. It's already happening in some places and it's coming to a city near you.

+ Taking Children: "The children were living in a foster home when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Then a group of Russian officials came and took them. Over the next year, the authorities filed paperwork to put many of them up for adoption." NYT (Gift Article): 46 Children Were Taken From Ukraine. Many Are Up for Adoption in Russia.

+ We Have Lift-off: "A Boeing spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts is on its historic maiden voyage. The landmark launch kicked off the first crewed test flight of the capsule and marked the culmination of a long and trying development process." Here's the latest.

+ Hoop Streams: "The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front-and-center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences." WSJ (Gift Article): NBA Nears $76 Billion TV Deal, a Defining Moment for Media and Sports.

+ The Other Front: In the US, the Middle East war stories are all about Gaza. In Israel, much of the focus is on Hezbollah—and about the already dire situation spiraling into a full fledged war. Reuters: Is the Hezbollah-Israel conflict about to spiral?

+ Molly Folly: NPR: FDA advisors reject MDMA therapy for PTSD, amid concerns over research. "A panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration on the use of the psychedelic MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder found on Tuesday that the available evidence fails to show that the drug is effective or that its benefits outweigh its risks." (What are the risks? Joy, hugs, and possible dancing?)

+ Tabling the Issue: The "pandemic devastated the restaurant industry, but sales are now far higher than before it started — and climbing." Restaurants are having their biggest year ever.

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Bottom of the News

"Users will also be required to enter 15 items of personal information, including height, educational background and occupation, which will be disclosed to potential matches. An interview with the app’s operators will be mandatory for registration. On top of that, users will be required to sign a pledge stating that they are using the app to find a marriage partner, rather than seeking a casual relationship." Tokyo dating app to promote marriage, keep out phonies.

+ I've spent decades honing (often of under extreme duress) my sixth sense for bathroom location and availability—and now everyone has access. A new Google Maps layer shows public restrooms in NYC.

+ "Event participants set the record for the most people eating pink soup at once, together, while they beat spoons against their bowls in anticipation for the event to start. Though only in its second year, the Vilnius Pink Soup Festival has already caused a bit of a stir as the city’s tourism agency might have just started a public beef between Latvia and Lithuania over cold beet soup." Baltic ‘beet down’: Latvia and Lithuania clash over cold pink soup. If you can't beet 'em...