Two professors lay out the surprising backstory on tampon technology, toxic shock syndrome and period poverty. Tampons are having a moment — an “oh crap I can’t find any at the store” moment. Companies like Tampax say they are scrambling to produce more of the product but facing the same kinds of that have left shelves empty in other sections of stores as well.Hear more from Suzette Lohmeyer about this story:For people who depend on tampons to keep their cycle from interfering with their lives — at work, school or while playing sports, for example — this is serious. And go ahead, ask...…Two professors lay out the surprising backstory on tampon technology, toxic shock syndrome and period poverty. Tampons are having a moment — an “oh crap I can’t find any at the store” moment. Companies like Tampax say they are scrambling to produce more of the product but facing the same kinds of that have left shelves empty in other sections of stores as well.Hear more from Suzette Lohmeyer about this story:For people who depend on tampons to keep their cycle from interfering with their lives — at work, school or while playing sports, for example — this is serious. And go ahead, ask...WW…

Illustration: Jim Starr360°Space is turning into a dangerous junkyardLENSESSScienceGGeopoliticsPPolicyDefunct rockets, satellites and other debris litter the skies. Giant nets, harpoons and robot claws might be part of the solution.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESAstronauts aboard the International Space Station scrambled for shelter last November as their fragile home flew through an unexpected cloud of debris 300 miles above Earth. A Russian antisatellite missile had slammed into a defunct satellite as part of a weapons test, blowing it...…Illustration: Jim Starr360°Space is turning into a dangerous junkyardLENSESSScienceGGeopoliticsPPolicyDefunct rockets, satellites and other debris litter the skies. Giant nets, harpoons and robot claws might be part of the solution.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESAstronauts aboard the International Space Station scrambled for shelter last November as their fragile home flew through an unexpected cloud of debris 300 miles above Earth. A Russian antisatellite missile had slammed into a defunct satellite as part of a weapons test, blowing it...WW…

Massive job growth, employer demand for labor and a booming housing market are all starting to come off the post-covid boom. This is one of the most confusing times in recent memory for the economy. , there’s unprecedented gloom; meanwhile, employers are hiring at a pace that’s only modest compared with . The housing market is in a state of flux, no longer buoyed by low and falling interest rates; some of the hottest markets in the country haven’t just seen slowing price growth, but the beginning of an outright reversal. Meanwhile, for many renters, housing costs continue to climb.And the...…Massive job growth, employer demand for labor and a booming housing market are all starting to come off the post-covid boom. This is one of the most confusing times in recent memory for the economy. , there’s unprecedented gloom; meanwhile, employers are hiring at a pace that’s only modest compared with . The housing market is in a state of flux, no longer buoyed by low and falling interest rates; some of the hottest markets in the country haven’t just seen slowing price growth, but the beginning of an outright reversal. Meanwhile, for many renters, housing costs continue to climb.And the...WW…

Americans have a tight hold on the idea that clothing has genders.If you go by the headlines, it was a big deal.“Brad Pitt Makes Fashion Statement by Rocking a Skirt at Bullet Train Screening,”. “Brad Pitt Is Back In His Skirt Era,” New York Magazine’s “Brad Pitt skirt alert!” .The actor, 58, did indeed rock a tattered brown linen skirt to the Berlin premiere of the action-comedy “Bullet Train.” And fashion experts were ready to comment.“It’s giving a rich, ’90s, new-age traveler energy,” Jessica Glasscock, a fashion historian and lecturer at Parsons School of Design, told Grid. “Sort of...…Americans have a tight hold on the idea that clothing has genders.If you go by the headlines, it was a big deal.“Brad Pitt Makes Fashion Statement by Rocking a Skirt at Bullet Train Screening,”. “Brad Pitt Is Back In His Skirt Era,” New York Magazine’s “Brad Pitt skirt alert!” .The actor, 58, did indeed rock a tattered brown linen skirt to the Berlin premiere of the action-comedy “Bullet Train.” And fashion experts were ready to comment.“It’s giving a rich, ’90s, new-age traveler energy,” Jessica Glasscock, a fashion historian and lecturer at Parsons School of Design, told Grid. “Sort of...WW…

Mae Decena/Shea Lord360°How inflation became America’s greatest economic problem LENSESLLaborPPoliticsWWarCClimateCChinaThe last time inflation was this high, the Fed engineered a severe recession. Unfortunately, the problem is much more complex now. Can the off-ramp to spiking inflation go better this time?ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESInflation has hit its highest level since the early 1980s, with prices rising 8.3 percent in the last year.The last time inflation, defined as the change in consumer prices over time, was this high was...…Mae Decena/Shea Lord360°How inflation became America’s greatest economic problem LENSESLLaborPPoliticsWWarCClimateCChinaThe last time inflation was this high, the Fed engineered a severe recession. Unfortunately, the problem is much more complex now. Can the off-ramp to spiking inflation go better this time?ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESInflation has hit its highest level since the early 1980s, with prices rising 8.3 percent in the last year.The last time inflation, defined as the change in consumer prices over time, was this high was...WW…

A conspiracy theory over climate change goals is spreading beyond the tractor-clogged highways of the Netherlands.For nearly a month, thousands of Dutch farmers have staged road blockades and other protests across the Netherlands, snarling traffic and grabbing headlines. The farmers and their allies have sprayed manure at government buildings, set bales of hay on fire and marched cows to The Hague. More recently, they’ve blockaded grocery distribution centers, leading to brief shortages on store shelves.Protest organizers say the actions express opposition to a recently introduced...…A conspiracy theory over climate change goals is spreading beyond the tractor-clogged highways of the Netherlands.For nearly a month, thousands of Dutch farmers have staged road blockades and other protests across the Netherlands, snarling traffic and grabbing headlines. The farmers and their allies have sprayed manure at government buildings, set bales of hay on fire and marched cows to The Hague. More recently, they’ve blockaded grocery distribution centers, leading to brief shortages on store shelves.Protest organizers say the actions express opposition to a recently introduced...WW…

Meet the lawmakers most deeply involved in planning Jan. 6, according to the Jan. 6 committee.More than a dozen Republican members of Congress were directly involved in lobbying for and orchestrating what Jan. 6 committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) “an attempted coup” to keep then-President Donald Trump in power, according to the panel’s findings and public accounts.It’s one of the most alarming revelations to be drawn from the mountains of evidence compiled by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, which is scheduled to hold...…Meet the lawmakers most deeply involved in planning Jan. 6, according to the Jan. 6 committee.More than a dozen Republican members of Congress were directly involved in lobbying for and orchestrating what Jan. 6 committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) “an attempted coup” to keep then-President Donald Trump in power, according to the panel’s findings and public accounts.It’s one of the most alarming revelations to be drawn from the mountains of evidence compiled by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, which is scheduled to hold...WW…

Capacity is up, but the U.S. is struggling to connect people with tests.When an infectious disease outbreak starts, it’s like a brush fire. The flames are small and, in theory, can be contained if chains of transmission — blowing, burning debris — are snuffed out before they spark more small fires that eventually grow into a raging epidemic.The key to it all is testing, a lesson the United States painfully learned early on with covid and is once again confronting as monkeypox spreads across the country.Two months into this latest epidemic, the U.S. has enlisted commercial labs to increase...…Capacity is up, but the U.S. is struggling to connect people with tests.When an infectious disease outbreak starts, it’s like a brush fire. The flames are small and, in theory, can be contained if chains of transmission — blowing, burning debris — are snuffed out before they spark more small fires that eventually grow into a raging epidemic.The key to it all is testing, a lesson the United States painfully learned early on with covid and is once again confronting as monkeypox spreads across the country.Two months into this latest epidemic, the U.S. has enlisted commercial labs to increase...WW…

Balloons, drones, radar and more: A huge science program in Houston is trying to tease out pollution’s effect on severe weather.HOUSTON — At a small municipal airport amid a sea of oil facilities and petrochemical plants east of downtown, prepared to release a weather balloon. A light rain fell as the Brookhaven National Laboratory research scientist let the large white balloon go, one of four sent up from the site every day — unless there are thunderstorms in the area, when several more are sent skyward.The balloon carried a radiosonde, a small device that collects data on temperature,...…Balloons, drones, radar and more: A huge science program in Houston is trying to tease out pollution’s effect on severe weather.HOUSTON — At a small municipal airport amid a sea of oil facilities and petrochemical plants east of downtown, prepared to release a weather balloon. A light rain fell as the Brookhaven National Laboratory research scientist let the large white balloon go, one of four sent up from the site every day — unless there are thunderstorms in the area, when several more are sent skyward.The balloon carried a radiosonde, a small device that collects data on temperature,...WW…

Grid/Getty Images360°What the science says about trans kids and medical careLENSESMMedicineMMental HealthPPoliticsIInternationalNew laws targeting trans children and their parents are based on politics, not research.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESEditor’s note: The following story deals with suicide. If you have suicidal thoughts, the is 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889).For suicide prevention resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click .Heather Crawford came...…Grid/Getty Images360°What the science says about trans kids and medical careLENSESMMedicineMMental HealthPPoliticsIInternationalNew laws targeting trans children and their parents are based on politics, not research.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESEditor’s note: The following story deals with suicide. If you have suicidal thoughts, the is 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889).For suicide prevention resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click .Heather Crawford came...WW…