The week of May 2, 2015 was: Kristin Wiig as Khaleesi; being not so sure about dadbod; and hating almost everything about football but shedding a lot of tears over this wonderful touchdown. Rock Chalk.

Mash-Ups in the News:

On Baltimore’s Soul, Not Its Riots:

This Baltimore Dad Has An Amazing Lesson For His Son

An Aspiring Baltimore Photographer Captures His City, Lands Time Cover

Today In Baltimore: A 10 a.m. Optimism, and Sadness

Rent a Foreigner in China

Go be a celebrity! Help people sell property. But first watch this short doc on recruiting foreigners to class up your real estate ventures. Seriously, it’s bananas.

via NY Times

Listen: A Podcast on Being A Muslim Woman in America

“I just kept speaking in English really loudly so I didn’t sound like a huge foreign freak.” Zahra Noorbakhsh on the time she wore her hijab to Blockbuster (after being forced by her Farsi teacher to wear the hijab in the first place). #GoodMuslimBadMuslim

via Mother Jones

Where Do New Yorkers Come From? 

These days, mostly the Caribbean. Very cool data visualization of immigration to New York throughout history.

via Metrocosm

The History of “Thug”

The word “thug” traces back to India in 1350, where the Hindi word “Thuggee” was used for a swindler or thief. From there a long and winding road to the word we use today.

via The Atlantic

Did “Multiculturalism” Fail Europe?

Long Read: An exploration of how the policies in different European countries have lead to a disjointed and disaffected society.

via Foreign Affairs

Is It Possible To Get Tired of Language Maps? Nope

250 million people in the world are native Bengali speakers. 389 million are native Spanish speakers and 527  million are native English speakers. But can we get back to how many native Bengali speakers there are?!

via Washington Post

Charles Phan of Slanted Door Remembers Leaving Saigon 

On April 30, 1975, the day Saigon fell, the great chef Charles Phan (we recommend this fab cookbook) escaped with his family in a cargo ship. We are all so lucky he did.

via KCRW

The Ugly Truth About Muslims: They Have Great Frittata

A few months ago, someone with too much money and a bad soul put racist anti-Muslim ads on the New York subways. A group of comedians have responded with some very silly, and funny, comebacks.

via Daily Beast

The Complex Politics of International Surrogacy, in the Wake of Nepal’s Earthquake

Israelis were able to rescue the babies born through surrogacy in Nepal for Israeli parents (and also are doing other critical disaster relief). But the surrogates themselves were not saved. What does it mean to be a surrogate? Where is the ethical line?

via Time