Hello Friends! I’ve been away visiting family for the past two weeks. I’m home now and getting geared up for Fringe Fest 2021! I have been casually collecting articles in my digital notepad, so some of these will seem about 2-3 weeks out of date.

Article: Jeff Bezos Thanks Amazon Workers, Customers After Space Trip: ‘You Guys Paid for All This’ (Newsweek)

In a stunningly (yet not at all unexpected) tone deaf moment, Bezos thanks staff and customers for his glamour cruise into space. Yeah, Bezos, we paid for this. We paid for this in the environmental impacts of opening up space tourism, we paid for the burden that amazon is wreaking on communities, your employees paid in unlivable wages and peeing in bottles. Read the room, dude.

Article/Listen: ‘The Lorax’ Warned Us 50 Years Ago, But We Didn’t Listen (NPR)

As the IPCC report was described as “Code Red for Humanity”, it’s been a difficult week for anyone who wants to believe that we’ll be able to maintain a liveable planet. And it’s not as if we weren’t given language to advocate for the planet from a very young age.

We have to do better. We just have to.

Article: Why is Afghanistan falling to the Taliban so fast? (The Guardian)

As Biden tried to pull a French Exit out of the forever war before his stated deadline of Sept 11th, a massive power vacuum has left absolute chaos in the wake of the pullout.

I am devastated for the Afghan people, especially for the women and girls who are again seeing their rights being taken away.

Another devastating chapter in this sad history.

More on this:

Afghan women fear ‘dark’ future, loss of rights as Taliban gain ground (NBC News)

4 Reasons A Taliban Takeover In Afghanistan Matters To The World (NPR)

She risked everything for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Now she could lose it all (CBC As it Happens)

Afghan interpreter for US Army was beheaded by Taliban. Others fear they will be hunted down too (CNN World)

Article: Frito-Lay worker claims assembly line forced to go on when colleague died (The New York Post)

I don’t even have words. This cannot be the cost of customer luxuries in 2021. This cannot be the cost of our snacks.

Podcast: Investigating the Catholic Church’s wealth (The Decibel)

This is a devastating look at the amassed wealth of the Catholic Church. And yet, they have never met the reparation goals they promised.

Beyond despicable.

Article: Dolly Parton invested Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ cover royalties in Black community (The Washington Post)

I honestly could not love this woman more if I tried.

Article: Chidi’s Reading List (BookRiot)

Rejoice, The Good Place fans! BookRiot has compiled a neat reading list for us so we ourselves may avoid ending up in the bad place.