No. 87 Sunday Readings on June 23, 2019

Here are four stories I thought you might find interesting:

One: Today’s Brain Pickings blog highlighted a vital book entitled, The Lost Words, about words we are taking away from children:

“In early 2015, when the 10,000-entry Oxford children’s dictionary dropped around fifty words related to nature — words like fern, willow, and starling — in favor of terms like broadband and cut and paste, some of the world’s most prominent authors composed an open letter of protest and alarm at this impoverishment of children’s vocabulary and its consequent diminishment of children’s belonging to and with the natural world.”

Two: Here’s an article on how sitting quietly and being aware of your breathing has turned into a billion-dollar business. Buyer beware.

Three: There is a new production of a Midsummer Night’s Dream that swaps the roles of Titania and Oberon, making it a play about every version of TRANSformation. It will be part of National Theatre Live in the fall.

Four: The NYT has reviewed the new television show out of England called Years and Years. It stars Emma Thompson. If you are like me and don’t have HBO, you can read the scripts for episodes here. The BBC’s Writer’s Room is a bounty for authors, and Russell T. Davies is one of its writing legends.