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The Highlight Archive

Archives for October 2019

Policy
Prop 65 was meant to protect Californians from toxic water. How did warning stickers end up on everything?Prop 65 was meant to protect Californians from toxic water. How did warning stickers end up on everything?
Policy

A local law has meant cancer warnings adorn everything from bikinis and faux leather jackets to certain foods and, for a while, coffee.

By Michael Waters
What lies beneath
Science

Many religions discourage disturbing the dead — and many horror movies and macabre books are inspired by it. But exhuming bodies isn’t that uncommon.

By Eleanor Cummins
Football’s “woke” moment is over
The Highlight

Three years after Colin Kaepernick’s protests, the sport hasn’t changed. Neither have fans.

By Michael Serazio
How the Pittsburgh shooting changed American Jews
The Highlight

My Jewish wedding was the day of the Tree of Life killings. On the first anniversary, a reflection of what’s happened to our community — both our pain and our strength.

By Zack Beauchamp
Welcome to the October issue of Vox’s The Highlight
The Highlight

The aftermath of the Camp Fire that nearly leveled Paradise, California, the mainstreaming of homeopathy, everything you need to know about the term Latinx, and more.

By Vox Staff
The survivors
Features

A year after the Camp Fire nearly leveled Paradise, California, the money is drying up and a lawsuit rages. Can recovery efforts ever return a community to its old self?

By Colleen Hagerty
“It’s just a big illusion”: How homeopathy went from fringe medicine to the grocery aisles
Science

As some lose faith in the factory-like care of conventional medicine, these curious remedies are ascendant.

By Stephie Grob Plante
Is it time for American cities to stop growing?
Cities & Urbanism

For years, urban “renewal” meant wooing young professionals. Even they can’t afford to live in cities anymore.

By Vinnie Rotondaro
“Latinx” is growing in popularity. I made a comic to help you understand why.
The Highlight

The gender-neutral term that’s supposed to be for everyone, well, isn’t.

By Terry Blas
How to stop looking at your phone
Culture

Don’t use it as an alarm, and other tips to break your insidious little habit.

By Rachel Saslow
Affordable housing is disappearing. So cities are designating parking lots to sleep in.
Policy

People slipping in and out of homelessness need “safe” parking lot programs like these.

By Matthew Zeitlin
The big business — and questionable effectiveness — of mass shooter trainings
Politics

Does their advice, including attacking the shooter as a last resort, actually work?

By Peter Rugg
So your kid is a bully. Here’s how to stop it.
The Highlight

First step: Try not to freak out.

By Rachel Wilkerson Miller
How to pack a Norwegian sandwich, the world’s most boring lunch
Culture

For people who cannot deal.

By Kara Elder
These laws were meant to protect people from HIV. They’ve only increased stigma and abuse.
Politics

Laws in many states make it a crime to have sex without disclosing your HIV status. Advocates say they may actually worsen the spread of the virus.

By Anna North