Quick hits: Seed catalogues promise amazing produce; a round barn rises; the Audubon Society's complicated name

Illustration by Nolan Pelletier, The New Yorker

"Leafing through seed catalogues" is all kinds of fun, reports historian Jill Lepore, writing for The New Yorker. "They promise 40-pound beets, rhubarb that tastes like wine, tomatoes that look like stained-glass windows, and world salvation. It doesn't hurt to dream." Or to read Lepore's piece!    

One in six children lack access to clean underwear; a nonprofit is partnering with underwear maker to help.

Pollution exposure is tough on the human body, and skin is no exception. "Here's what we know about what pollution does to your skin, and what you can do about it," reports Courtney Rubin of The New York Times.

A little bit of StoryCorps from rural Tennessee is always good on a Monday: "Father And Son Look Back On A Life Filled With Music" with Jason Von Stein and Jim Von Stein.

The interior of Jay Branson’s round barn in Guthrie, Oklahoma 
(Photo by Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times)

Some beautiful things can happen in the midst of loss or perhaps because of it. "Jay often was home alone with his grief. To stay sane, he went out to his backyard and started building the barn. . . . Although not exactly common, round barns have a long history in the U.S.," reports Haily Branson-Potts of the Los Angeles Times.

After a year of discussions, the National Audubon Society board voted to retain the organization's name despite John James Audubon's history as an enslaver and racist, reports Jesus Jiménez for The New York Times. "The decision faced sharp criticism from other birding groups across the country, including its own staff in the Bird Union." The society's website attempts to address the founder's failings: "His contributions to ornithology, art, and culture are enormous, but he was a complex and troubling character who did despicable things even by the standards of his day."

As winter hangs on, cattle raisers should remember that when "squatty, squishy bales make their way out of the ditch and into the cow, it can be costly," the University of Missouri advises. In other words, "Cheap hay isn't cheap."

High school basketball competitions can be fierce, but they can also bring out the best in people. "Martin County High School boys' basketball team was in the final quarter of a nail-biter of a game at a regional tournament in Pikeville, Ky., when live music suddenly started playing for them," reports Sydney Page of The Washington Post. "They knew it wasn't their school's small 23-member band — which could not attend the game because of a bus driver shortage. . . . The music was coming from the nearly 100-member band of a rival school. The score was tied in the tense game when the music started." The band was from Pike County Central High School.