Two Minutes Du Jour

The last few days it’s been so hot that my porch partner has preferred the cool green grass. Here he is, content as can be, with his new, indestructible chicken toy!

Being in the yard instead of on the porch is not a complete departure from our morning routine; yet it’s a simple shift, it offers a fresh vantage point and it brings Duke joy.

A small change can yield new discoveries. These new finds are a boost during the dog days of summer.

Go Down a New Path

Speaking of new finds, it’s been so steamy that our ordinary walks with Duke have been cut short, so we’ve ventured off without him a few times to go on longer strolls.

Earlier this week, we started along a familiar street and then decided to veer down a path we hadn’t been on in years. Instead of going the way we remembered, we continued straight and discovered that the path went quite a ways through an open area of wildflowers and a pond full of ducks.

Ultimately, the path led to an unfamiliar neighborhood and a street we didn’t know – less than a mile or so from our own. It was such fun to find a new route.

Check out these “ducks in a row.” I think that’s a possible topic for a future issue of Two Minutes Du Jour!

Listen to Something New

Most of us have our go-to sources for news and entertainment. It’s our pattern, our routine. But sometimes, I discover the most interesting and inspiring things when I go a different direction.

This past week, I discovered two fascinating podcasts with stories I didn’t know – and probably wouldn’t have heard about if I hadn’t done a random search and scroll. I’m including the links below but am pasting their short descriptions here, and I encourage you to detour from your listening routine and find something unexpected, welcome and thought-provoking. It will add some pep to your step!

The Nightingale of Iran

The podcast, which is presented by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and distributed by PRX, is the brainchild of sisters Danielle and Galeet Dardashti. The six-part series offers a master class in storytelling, music and identity as they interview family members and experts, and unearth previously unknown reel-to-reel, cassette and VHS tapes in their parents’ New Rochelle basement, to uncover a secret spanning over six decades. 

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong

There’s an idea about how children learn to read that’s held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It’s an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn’t true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.

Two Links Du Jour:

The Nightingale of Iran – a documentary podcast series presented by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong – a documentary podcast by American Public Media