Chapter 1: CO2 on Earth , A Birth Story

Listen: “What the West gets wrong about China.” As much of a rising power as China is today, there’s a lot that we (in the West) don’t understand about it. In this fun and easily digestible episode of Trevor Noah and Eugene Khoza’s podcast “What Now?”, they speak with China expert Alice Han about the country’s demographic diversity, how Chinese citizens view the United States, and the lasting impact of the one-child policy on everything from work to the dating landscape. — Natalie J.

Read: “Miss Lonelyhearts” by Nathanael West. Though a short novel, this disturbing story isn’t quite a beach read. The book follows an advice columnist in 1930s Manhattan who slowly goes insane under the weight of both his own misery and the burden of the heartbreaking letters from people writing to him with pleas for help every day. Compelling, yes, but the harsh realism of the novella is steeped in foul cynicism and a stark, scathing criticism of the American Dream. Be warned, it’s grim. – Farida

Play: TimeGuessr. Bored of playing GeoGuessr and want an extra challenge? Try TimeGuessr: it's a daily geography game, but with historical photos, so you have to guess the location AND the year. I only got 28,914/50,000 points today. Can you beat me? – Will