This week, you get four great articles, a happy picture of happy students with their Kindles, and a right-on-point book recommendation. What more could you ask for? Tell me what you like best.

50 Years After the Moynihan Report, Examining the Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration

Set aside an hour or so and prepare to be educated and moved. Ta-Nehisi Coates is back with another stunning article, this time about the history of mass incarceration and its effects on the African American family. TNC’s trademark is to connect the dots between history and our current situation.

Two proud ninth graders in San Francisco are happy to receive their Kindles. They’re in Marni Spitz’s Reading Lab class, where students reclaim their love of reading. Go Marni, and go reading!

The Growing Field of Ecotherapy

Next time you’re sick, don’t reach for the Robitussin or Advil. Instead, talk a walk in a park. Or rub some soil between your fingers. Dr. James Hamblin interviews ecotherapists (yes, the trend began and is most popular in the Bay Area) who contend that cures for most mild ailments can be found in nature.

School Suspensions and the Racial Discipline Gap

Most of know about the school-to-prison pipeline. Nevertheless, I appreciate this piece by Edward Graham that looks at the current racial discipline gap and the history of alternative discipline practices. It’s also heartwarming to witness restorative policies in schools across the country, particularly in Oakland and San Francisco.

My good friend Michele recommended Plainsong to me, and then she was patient as I waited several months to start it. I’m happy I did. His prose is gentle, spare, and beautiful — a bit like Alan Paton in Cry, the Beloved Country (though not about apartheid). Plainsong is a small book told small about small things, and it ends up being very big. Thanks, Michele.

A Dying Woman’s Hope in Cryonics and a Future

What if we could live forever? Cancer claimed Kim Suozzi at age 23, but she chose to have her brain preserved with the dream that neuroscience might one day revive her mind. This article is fascinating in so many ways — including its reminder that the Singularity (where humans mesh with technology) is not too far off.

That’s it for this week! Reply to this email to let me know what you think. Or tell a friend: j.mp/iserotopeextras!