#5SmartReads - February 14, 2023

Hitha on retiring from influencing, the future of abortion without mifepristone, and disordered proteins

February 14, 2023

I hope you’ll humor my nerdy self with this article and its deep dive on protein - especially the ones that defy the traditionally accepted principle that their shape fits their function.

Flexible, disordered proteins are nothing to be scared about - in fact, they make up 40% of the proteins made in your body.

This has been a subject of study for decades, and scientists have determined that their disordered shape is key to one of their functions (transcribing DNA into RNA). Some disordered proteins have incredibly vital functions in our bodies - and some are found to have roles in cancer, cardiovascular disease, or neurodegeneration.

The more we study these, the more we learn and can develop targeted therapeutics for these diseases, and gain a greater understanding of how our bodies work.

This is an excellent primer on this topic - on what we know, what we don’t, and what’s next in this field. And it’s really exciting.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime performance has been added to my “fire me up!” note (a list of videos, articles, and podcast episodes I rewatch/reread/relisten when I need some motivation). So has this article.

Rihanna is truly an icon in music, business, fashion, and philanthropy. And I want to give that last sector amplification because it has earned it. Here are a few fast facts:

  • The Clara Lionel Foundation has directed $100M via grants in all 50 states and seven Caribbean countries, predominantly to the activists and smaller organizations on the front lines of climate resilience, climate justice, and legacy projects in Barbados.

  • Intersectionality isn’t just a buzzword for CLF - it's the filter applied to every project they consider funding:

““Often, who we support is just as important to us as how we provide support,” [Justine] Lucas said. CLF is “proud that 95% of our partners are entities focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, People of Color and LGBTQIA+ communities,” she added.

One example of CLF’s intersectional approach: it is investing in efforts to make reproductive and sexual health clinics in the Caribbean climate resilient, so their services aren’t interrupted by natural disasters.”

There is no shortage of reasons to admire and respect Rihanna - but her approach to giving back is at the top of my list. Also, I’m forever loyal to Fenty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint - it’s my desert island makeup product.

First things first - that a medication that gained FDA approval over 20 years ago and has a huge database of safety and efficacy data potentially having its approval revoked by a judge who doesn’t know a thing about pharmacology or mechanism of action is infuriating. And if this drug’s authorization is removed, it sets a dangerous precedent and will create even more public health problems beyond what we already have.

But how did we even get here? And does mifepristone alone work, in the very real potential reality mifepristone is no longer legally available in the United States?

This article answers all of these questions in detail and with the necessary nuance that reproductive healthcare stories require. If there’s one article you read today, please make it this one.

And please share it:

  • forward your #5SmartReads e-mail to friends and family

  • DM this story to a friend or friends who you think should read it

  • screenshot and share on your own story

I think a lot about my own journey as a content creator, and when the day comes where I flip my profile to being focused on #5SmartReads instead of me. There’s a lot more out there about how to become a content creator than retiring from it, and I am so grateful for Dr. Ijeoma Kola’s reflections on stepping back from her own content career.

This part of her essay is has implanted in my brain and my heart:

“The amount of time needed to sustain a robust influencing career also took time away from my family, which is of utmost importance to me. Even with a manager or a three-person team, there’s still a lot of time spent on the phone or computer, and I didn’t want to model that kind of digital attachment as my son grew older. In the weeks when I was solo parenting, I could not be as attentive as I wanted to my son at times because I was distracted by a caption or concept that was due or scheduling a last-minute photoshoot. When we were all together, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my family, so it was especially painful when I had to work through bathtime, a bedtime story reading, or a movie I’d promised to watch, knowing that our time together was limited anyway.”

I feel this so deeply, especially about modeling digital attachment in front of my young kids. I am so lucky to have the flexibility I have to create the bulk of my content while they’re at school, but I spent too much of my time this past weekend on my phone in front of my kids (reading up on the Super Bowl predictions, coordinating the potluck and food orders, scrolling because my brain was fried and that was what felt right).

I didn’t like it - and I deleted my social media apps from my phone for the week to give myself a bit of a break (thank you, Taber, for managing things on my behalf!).

To borrow Serena Williams’ phrase, I’m thinking a lot on how my content career will evolve and what I still want to create and publish and what I want to take a step back from. Longer social media breaks and some stronger boundaries here definitely feel like a good place to start.

Where’s the Vice President? She’s focused on her purpose, ignoring the reductive and clickbait opinions from a large part of the media, and working.

This week, she’ll be representing the United States to reaffirm our support to Ukraine on the 1 year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, and working with our allies on further aid to Ukraine as well as other diplomatic initiatives.

I’ve long been troubled by the tired old playbook the press uses when reporting on women of color, as I wrote about here (I’d add that “ghosting” comes after the tear-down, followed by “where is she?” reporting). No leader is perfect and I have my own differences on policy with my role models in Vice President Harris and former Speaker Pelosi. But to question their role and value to the administration or Congress when they embody the Jalenism of “having a purpose before anyone having an opinion” and focusing fully on work is a cheap ploy to generate revenue, and one I need to point out because so many people have bought into it.

Where’s the Vice President? Hard at work on behalf of the American people. And in this case, in defense of democracy worldwide.

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