#5SmartReads - April 10, 2023

A native of Mumbai, India, Shibani lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband and two rescue dogs. She spends her days calculating EBITDA and her free time reading, gardening, exploring her city and using her Peloton. Shibani would like to remind you to check your voter registration and make sure you're registered to vote in your local elections!

Urgent Care Centers For Pets In Cary (Axios)

I’ve relaxed a lot more about my dogs since Webster and Reggie are our 3rd and 4th dogs together. But back in the day, I was a very anxious first time dog owner and there were many panicked calls to my vet.

We did end up having to take Otto (our first dog) to the ER more than once, and I wish there had been an intermediate option between the regular vet and ER. I will be curious to see how this does, and whether the concept expands across the U.S.

As Extreme Heat Grips The Globe, Access To Air Conditioning Is An Urgent Public Health Issue (Brookings)

If you're in the northern part of the county, it may feel like summer is so far away, but it will be here before you know it. And with climate change, we can expect our summers to become more extreme. And extreme summers bring with it a public health crisis - a lack of access to air conditioning.

The Junkification Of Amazon (Intelligencer)

If you’ve recently searched something, anything, on Amazon and found yourself inundated with search results from manufacturers that are seemingly a collection of random letters, you’re not alone. Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes.

Canada’s Drug Experiment (The Hustle)

I wrote a paper on the economics of legalizing drugs when I was in grad school. My research at the time completely changed the way I think about drugs, drug use, and how we treat people who end up addicted to them. Our solution, incorrectly, is incarceration. While decriminalization and legalization are not the same thing, decriminalization is definitely a step in the right direction.

Portugal decriminalized in 2001, Oregon is experimenting with it, and Canada is too.

How The Humble Potato Changed The World (BBC Travel)

As always, a like to end these with something fun.

For somewhat complex and slightly bizarre reasons, I fell down a rabbit-hole of potato research. While originally from the American Andes, the potato is remarkably adaptable and has been called "the world's most successful immigrant". Did you also know it is the most important non-grain crop?! Why diet culture tends to demonize potatoes, they are truly incredible.