The Week in Ideas: Can America save its national dish?

Plus: Cosby no longer lives in prison, but he will always live in shame; No one was prepared for the Northwest heat wave — especially not the animals ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Opinions you may have missed.       By Fred Hiatt  Email I will admit right off the bat that this is not your typical op-ed column. But Megan McArdle's Opinions Essay, "Can America save its national dish?," is delightful and surprising — answering questions you never thought to ask, wandering down roads you may never have visited and possibly even (while you're not noticing) teaching you a bit of history.  And while you can find plenty of serious topics in the recommendations below, please do not let Megan hear you suggest that this one is not also serious. "We are at risk of losing not just a dessert," she writes, "but a little piece of who we are as a country." I hope you enjoy her essay, and I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Fourth, with or without a perfect slice of cherry pie. America forgot how to make proper pie. Can we remember before it's too late? Americans invented the dessert we call pie. Why are they letting it die? The Opinions Essay ●  By Megan McArdle ●  Read more »   No one was prepared for the Northwest heat wave — especially not the animals There are some ways to make the ever-warming Pacific Northwest more livable for humans. For the plants and creatures that live outside, all we can do is triage. By Tove Danovich ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   In the condo collapse, water is an inevitable suspect. This is Florida. The disaster has spurred a much-needed reckoning about the condition of infrastructure. By Lizette Alvarez ●  Read more »   The Supreme Court showcased its 'textualist' double standard on voting rights It isn't textualism to follow statutory language only when doing so is congenial to one's ideological allies. By Nicholas Stephanopoulos ●  Read more »   Gavin Grimm on a watershed moment in the fight for transgender rights Gavin Grimm was a sophomore in high school when he became a household name in the movement for transgender rights. This week, vindication arrived from the Supreme Court. 'Please, Go On' Podcast ●  By James Hohmann ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   The Indian government continues to harass journalists. I'm facing prison over a tweet. At a time when I should be reporting and continuing to extend help to families in India through my relief work, I am engaged with a battery of lawyers to fight the legal cases and summonses slapped on me. By Rana Ayyub ●  Read more »   Aliens might be the thing to finally unite us Let's hope they come in peace, too. By Molly Roberts ●  Read more »   Cosby no longer lives in prison, but he will always live in shame We know what Cosby did, but his case shows how hard it is to hold powerful defendants accountable for sexual assaults. By Eugene Robinson ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out About US for candid conversations about identity in America — from racial injustices to political movements — in your inbox Tuesdays and Fridays. Sign up »

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