The sportswomen of Somaliland In Hargeisa, the capital city of the self-declared nation of Somaliland, more and more women are building gyms, going for early morning runs or evening Zumba classes. They are slowly trying to carve out spaces of their own in a Muslim world in which they’ve been sidelined and asked to hide away behind high walls. But if you watch more closely, this was not always the case for women growing up in Hargeisa.

Before Somaliland declared its independence 30 years ago, girls were free to do sports – though they could not profess their religion openly. By telling the story of these women athletes, journalist Ryan Lenora Brown tells us the history of Somaliland, revealing its contradictions. And she also describes how small steps like setting up a Zumba class can create a newly found sense of community and space where women can just be together.

Irene, First 1,000 Days correspondent The Christian Science Monitor: ‘Somaliland’s sportswomen are breaking tape – and barriers’ (reading time: 12 minutes)
What do you do when your child grows from ‘cute’ to ‘threatening’? As a mother, how do you deal with the knowledge that your little, cute child - who endears everyone with a big smile - grows up in a society where at some point in time he’ll turn from "cute" to "threatening". Only because of the colour of his skin.

This essay by a black mother shows the painful reality of the omnipresent racism in which the innocence of young black men slowly fades away and fear starts to cause them to be increasingly treated as criminals, as something to be afraid of. It’s a powerful reflection by a mother who knows she needs to have "the talk" with her young child to warn about the dangers his skin colour will face later in life.

Sebastian, managing director AllMomDoes: ‘When my beautiful black boy grows from cute to a threat’ (reading time: four minutes)
This is why we believe conspiracy theories Conspiracies have flourished online since the murder of George Floyd by US police officers last week, some of which have been officially endorsed by President Trump. That means conspiracies are no longer just found on 4chan (but God, don’t you miss a time when that website seemed like our biggest problem?). You’re more likey now to find them in the news, which is why it’s so important to understand why we fall for misinformation.

This article by Emma Grey Ellis explains that misinformation has always loved misery. For some, it’s a coping mechanism when information is hard to process. We can’t cope with all that anger and pain – it has to go somewhere. For others, it’s a way to make anger seem foreign and constructed. The outsider changes, but the narrative is always the same.

Shaun, copy editor WIRED: ‘The world was primed for protest conspiracy theories’ (reading time: nine minutes)

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