Warmest morning low

About that unseasonably cold spring we’ve been having...

I went to Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends on Friday night. Seeing Bernadette Peters perform live fulfilled a childhood dream I didn’t even know I had, because it didn’t occur to my younger self that that would be a possibility.

The revue included six songs from Into the Woods, which has been one of my favorite musicals ever since I saw the recording of the Broadway show at a friend’s house in 5th or 6th grade. I was obsessed with fairy tale retellings and mash-ups growing up, and I’ve gotten through more than a few tough stretches of hiking by singing the songs I still (mostly) know by heart to myself. (Of all the musicals I know and love, it’s also the one that makes the most sense to sing, ahem, while in the woods.)

Bansho zukan by Kobayashi, Bunshichi

I’ve seen the full show twice—at Shakespeare in the Park in 2012, and at City Center in 2022—but my capacity for delight every time I hear the familiar notes knows no bounds. Peters’ take on Little Red Riding Hood was fun—but it was when she came out to join the end of “Children Will Listen” that I began crying with happiness.

Anyway, while walking through a chilly drizzle on our way to the theater, my friends and I were complaining about the unseasonably cold spring we’ve been having. Later I looked to see if anyone has bothered to explain this, but to my horror instead found a New York Post article, of all things, explaining that actually it’s been a warmer spring in New York than average by about 3.3 degrees, and that last Saturday broke the city’s record for “warmest morning low.” As a climate change journalist, I guess I can’t say I’m surprised by this, but I am a bit disgusted by my lack of awareness.

And no, the New York Post article didn’t mention climate change.

Bansho zukan by Kobayashi, Bunshichi

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reading list

good.

• A jury ordered Chevron to pay more than $744 million in damages for destroying Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. It was the first of 42 lawsuits filed against the company over a decade ago. (Maya Yang for the Guardian)

not good.

• Federal funding cuts and layoffs have interrupted trail work on hundreds of miles of the Pacific Crest and Appalachian trails, making things a lot more difficult for thru-hikers this year—and likely in coming years, as well. (Julie Watson for the Associated Press)

possibly the worst thing on the internet rn.

• Actually, sprawl is good, apparently (Conor Dougherty for the New York Times)

of interest.

• The case for “rewilding” the internet (Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon for Noema)

self-promotion.

• You probably heard that the biotechnology company Colossal brought the dire wolf back from extinction—or you heard that they didn’t. Anyway, I wrote about how the company manufactured a media frenzy—and kept the journalists who had advance access to the story from getting significant input from unaffiliated scientists about Colossal’s claims.