During last year’s BLM uprising, Google Trends Data showed a 300 percent increase in the search “How to find a Black-owned business in my area?” Khadijah Robinson, a lawyer based in D.C., makes this #BuyBlack lifestyle easy with The Nile List (thenilelist.com), a site she launched in March 2020 that invites users to “discover dope Black-owned brands.” Simply search for any item you need, from necessities like coffee or laundry detergent to fun stuff like lipstick or bath salts, and up pops a list of...

Once a feel-good retro hobby, the popularity of roller skating has skyrocketed since the pandemic put a premium on outdoor, socially distanced fun. Here, Brooklyn’s reigning skate queen Lola Star shares all her tips for getting up to speed   By Lola Star Photos by Lauren Silberman Author and Brooklyn-based skate queen Lola Star photographed at Industry City Roller skating is pure magic. It is my church, therapy, gym, and social club all rolled into one dazzling experience. When I lace skates onto my feet, an ecstatic sense of...

Lately, a number of people who menstruate have been reporting something new after receiving the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine: irregular menstrual cycles. But is there really a correlation between the two?  In February of this year, Dr. Kathryn Clancy, associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, took to Twitter about her reaction to the vaccine.   A colleague told me she has heard from others that their periods were heavy post-vax. I'm curious whether other menstruators have noticed changes too? I'm a week and...

Vaccines are rolling out and businesses are reopening, but hanging out in crowded, enclosed spaces still feels like wobbly territory. With spring underway and summer swiftly approaching, what better activity to beat the late-pandemic blues than a picnic? Picnics are an excuse to get out of the house and be a person in the world without getting caught up in a droplet-storm with a sea of strangers. They're also cute and wholesome as heck. Here’s what you’ll need to cultivate the perfect picnic experience. 1. A...

A new study has shown that people underestimate the pain women are in. Both men and women believe women exaggerate the pain they are in and are likely to dismiss it.   According to a study written in The Journal of Pain, researchers found that gender does matter when it comes to the perception of pain and the corresponding treatment options. The study shows that both men and women exhibit this implicit, unconscious bias about the intersection of women and pain. The research shows that gender stereotypes...

What is an evening of pampering yourself without a face mask, a warm bath, and a few candles to burn? With the steadily expanding market for luxury candles, finding a good candle at a decent price can feel like an investment these days. But U.K.-based candle company Trippy Tuesday will definitely make it worth your while.  Like so many other artistic adventures over the course of this past year, Trippy Tuesday was born out of one of our world’s darkest periods in modern history. It was...

Over Easter weekend, an unretouched photo of Khloé Kardashian wearing a leopard-print bikini surfaced online and became a viral news story. At a time when there are plenty of important things to focus on, a photo of a woman in a bikini should not have caused such a stir. On a surface level, there was nothing wrong with this picture; it was taken by the Kardashians’ grandmother, it shows Khloé wearing what appears to be a genuine smile, and her body looks healthy. The real...

It is no secret that stress and anxiety can wreak havoc in our lives. And these days we are all feeling more stress than usual. The good news is that you can actually train your brain toward greater well-being through mindfulness practice. Mindfulness practice is an action you can take to elicit the state of mindfulness. Mindfulness is 1) the state of consciously and deliberately noticing what you are attending to in the present moment instead of remaining on autopilot and, 2) doing so without attaching...

Disembodied hair triggers an almost subconscious reflex of disgust in humans. While natural when attached to a scalp, an errant strand floating in a bowl of tomato soup or a damp wad clogging up a shower drain is enough to send a shiver down even the strongest of spines. So why is it that, two centuries ago, loose hair—and often, hair cut from a corpse—was the key ingredient in a popular household craft? The creation of art from human hair, or “hairwork,” reached its peak in...

April 3 marks Jane Goodall’s 87th birthday. The primatologist and anthropologist’s work has deepened humans’ understanding of primates and empathy for animals and the natural world. Goodall is an inspiration not only for the major strides she has made in chimpanzee research, human rights, and environmental conservation, but also for the trailblazing example she set for women in scientific fields. When she began her work in primate research in the 1950s, the field was dominated by men. According to CBC, primatology now has one of...