Happy morning. Well done to those who have returned to work this week, they made it through the first few hours of Monday. Guardian Australia's lifestyle editor, Alyx Gorman, has selected five great reads for you to read this summer.
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Next, on to the books.
1. The choice to suffer has value.
Hedonism isn't all it's cracked up to be according to a Yale professor. Seeking something greater than pleasure involves putting ourselves through pain, difficulty and denial.
The most satisfying lives involve challenge, fear and struggle, according to Paul Bloom.
How do we get from meaning to suffering? "What do you think?" Bloom asks. There is a lot of evidence suggesting a connection. People who say their lives are meaningful report more anxiety and worry than people who say their lives are happy.
The value in chucking a sickie is a bonus read. It doesn't mean that you don't need rest. The power of a sick note is discussed in an interview.
2. The person is here for breakfast.
Ahead of her first day at Radio National, she spoke with the host of the Breakfast program about making a show that feels representative and stepping into Fran Kelly's formidable boots.
The show's spirit will continue, according toPatricia Karvelas. Jackson Gallagher is a photographer for The Guardian.
Karvelas bristled with irritation when asked about Chris Kenny's comment that she is another green left activist. I don't recall him telling me I was a green left activist when I worked with him at the Australian newspaper.
3. The drug crisis is the worst.
Investigative journalist Sam Quinones has been writing about drugs for years. He says that the opiate epidemic is probably a misconception because of the increase in usage of synthetic drugs. It is an epidemic of addiction.
Quinones says that it is a market expansion tool for the drug Fentanyl, which is responsible for 70% of overdoses in the US. When you put fentanyl into cocaine, the user will become a drug user. You run the risk of killing some of your customers by doing that.
How long will it take me to read? Four minutes.
4. Rio has narco-pentecostals.
In the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where drug conflicts have been raging since the 1980s, gangs are becoming more evangelical.
I have dodged death many times. He was the one who delivered me. The Guardian has a photo of Alan Lima.
Christina Vital is an academic who has been studying the advance into gangland Rio for nearly 30 years. She said it was inevitable that traffickers would embrace Christianity because of the evangelical wave that has swept over Brazilian society. The media, politics, judiciary and culture have all had evangelicals in key positions.
How long will it take me to read? A little over three minutes.
5. Life is a super smeller.
Dr Krati Garg is part of a small group of people who can smell things nobody else notices.
What is the upside? Garg is an oral surgeon and once detected a gas leak in the operating theatre.
What is the downside? She says to stay away from a particular group of people because someone is wearing a strong perfume.
Garg is not the only person with an extraordinary sense; in our series Meet the Superhumans, we are interviewing Australians who push the boundaries of human ability.
Tell me how this is going.
I would love to hear from you about this newsletter. Would you be willing to receive it after the summer? How often? Let me know by email or on social media.
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