'It makes less sense than ever for the public to be coddling this sport'

'Dead athletes. Empty stands. Why are we paying billions to keep this sport alive?'

Noah Shachtman at The New York Times

Few "things are more inspiring than seeing a horse run, and the feelings that these animals evoke in humans can border on the mystic," but that's "neither an economic nor a policy rationale for spending billions" on the "unpopular sport" of horse racing, says Noah Shachtman. Why "keep propping up a pastime that, despite many attempted overhauls, can't keep its fans and takes such a heavy toll on its athletes and workers?" The "obvious solution here is also the simplest: Just stop."

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'Light in dark times: Lessons from Black history and MLK's life'

Isaac Miller at The Philadelphia Inquirer

There are "lessons we can learn from Black history and King's life as the chaos of executive disorder abounds, and as the globe faces a crisis of fire, flood, and drought," says Isaac Miller. "Contributing to the darkness is the seemingly ever-present division arising from claims of superiority and privilege based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental health." There is a "need for resting places where, in love, support can be known and shared."

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'Who counts as a hillbilly — and who gets to decide?'

Andrew Aoyama at The Atlantic

Appalachia has "always existed as much in myth as in literal geography," says Andrew Aoyama. There's a "complicated history of what 'being Appalachian' really means in America." Perhaps "whether or not Americans consider someone to be 'from' Appalachia has less to do with where that person grew up on a map than with their embodiment or rejection of the myths we associate with the region — and, at least in some cases, with how those myths can serve our political priorities."

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'Ukraine can unite the global north'

Andrew Day at The American Conservative

"Any agreement that resolves" the Russian-Ukrainian war "will also shape the future of the entire Global North, stretching from North America through Europe to Russia," says Andrew Day. Leaders of "both the United States and Russia seem aware that negotiations to end the war carry this wider significance." European leaders "understand that settling the war will entail establishing a security architecture." An "armed neutrality would allow Ukraine to become a true buffer state once again, easing Russian–Western tensions.

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