Happy Saturday! And happy one-week birthday to the Coldplay couple, who I promise to give no more airtime … after this. Now, with a cuppa in hand, please read on and enjoy five articles worthy of your time.
1. We taught our son the police were there to protect him. Then they killed him
In the latest of our How we survive series, Kelly Ghaisar shares the moment her “lovely bubble” of living the American dream burst. She was told her 25-year-old son had been shot in his car, while unarmed, by two police officers. It’s seven and a half years since Bijan’s death, and Ghaisar is still fighting for her boy.
Her hopes: To see the laws protecting the officers who killed her son repealed.
How she survives: Ghaisar says her “number one is Bijan”, along with her friends and family. “I will not stop fighting for Bijan, not while I still live and breathe.”
How long will it take to read: Four and a half minutes.
2. How Qatar became the global diplomatic middleman
Nesrine Malik has visited Qatar many times over the past 15 years, and spoke to dozens of sources about its “financial power and political determination” to write this incredible long read on how Qatar became the global capital of diplomacy.
‘World’s largest natural gas field’: Despite being in the shadows of its larger neighbour Saudi Arabia, this tiny country – astonishingly wealthy thanks to pure geological luck – has helped tackle some of the most intractable conflicts.
The 12-day war: “On 22 June the US struck three nuclear facilities in Iran,” Malik writes. “On 23 June, Iran launched missiles towards Qatar.”
‘Peace facilitator’: “Yet within 48 hours, the conflict was over – and Qatar played a critical role in bringing it to an end.” But how?
How long will it take to read: 13 minutes.
3. Paul Foot on the three seconds that changed his life
Paul Foot spent decades suffering from anxiety and depression, until one Sunday, driving through Manchester, the British comedian’s “consciousness exploded”. In this interview he recounts the experience to Paula Cocozza – and Cocozza writes about Foot’s trauma and his current state of profound joy in a very special way.
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“It was a moment that was both extraordinary and ordinary” – like stirring from a dream. “It was just, ‘Oh, I’ve woken up …’ And it didn’t matter that I’d spent 28 years in a state of depression. It was gone. Everything was different.” – Paul Foot
How long will it take to read: Five and a half minutes.
4. Let’s talk about sex, baby
It would be rude not to include a story that attracted more than a million views this week, especially since Guardian Australia’s lifestyle editor, Alyx Gorman, shared the one universal sex tip she uncovered while researching her book on the same topic.
Gratification: While a woman’s pleasure is “specific and individual”, Gorman found less variety after asking what women think “their partner did to enable that one overwhelming moment”. The answer is simple, obvious and teachable.
How long will it take to read: Three and a half minutes (unless you read the comments).
Further reading: Roxane Gay introduces portraits of people with their sex toys around the world.
5. Overlooked and affordable superfoods
Superfoods – a term used in the 1960s to describe foods combating malnutrition – now include a select few highly marketable items, most likely found in a health food store.
That’s what I thought until I stumbled across Rachel Dixon’s list of 17 superfoods, which experts point out are probably waiting to be consumed in our pantries and fridges. I have seven at the moment … how about you?
Ditch the goji berries: They “need a lot of water, are often grown as a monoculture, and there are questions over fair wages for farmers”, writes Dixon, after speaking to researchers Giulia Santunione and Giuseppe Montevecchi.
Unglamorous alternatives: Go carrots, peas, oats or popcorn instead!
How long will it take to read: Five minutes.
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