Tuesday’s Olympics coverage features the much-anticipated women’s team gymnastics competition (occurring live in Rio as this is published). This is the moment for Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian to compete together for team U.S.A. before breaking off for individual events later in the competition. The Rio Games are the…

via Aly Raisman on the Magic of the Gymnastics Team Competition — TIME

Alvaro Ybarra Zavala puts it bluntly: “Venezuela has become hell.” The photographer had just returned from one of his latest trips to the South American nation when he talked to TIME, and he was visibly affected by the chaos he had witnessed there. “There’s a complete collapse of society,” he said. Once an example for…

via Witnessing a ‘Complete Collapse of Society’ in Venezuela — TIME

These days, debates over immigration may seem like an inescapable and constant part of American politics. From the Supreme Court to the Presidential election, everyone has an opinion about how to fix a system that many perceive as broken. But as immigration historian David Reimers tells TIME, that’s not actually the case. The current debate…

via The Forgotten History Behind America’s Immigration Debate — TIME

Last week, in advance of the Olympic Games, Google’s Arts and Culture series debuted an interactive tour of Rio de Janiero dubbed “Beyond the Map.” The tour includes a dive into Rio’s favelas, mixing immersive 360-degree video with more straightforward documentary segments. The glimpse into the favelas–also referred to as informal settlements, shantytowns, or simply…

via Google Goes Beyond the Map to Catalog Rio’s Troubled, Vibrant Favelas — Fortune

Originally posted on Why Evolution Is True: You may not know that in many parts of Australia, blasphemy—the criticism of religion—remains a criminal offense, though it’s almost never enforced. Wikipedia describes the complicated situation: All common law offences were abolished and replaced by a criminal code without replacing the common law offences of blasphemy and…

via Australian territory passes anti-blasphemy law — Utopia – you are standing in it!

Swimming is always one of the marquee events of the Olympics, and the Rio Games are brimming with great matchups. From Katie Ledecky‘s quest for gold to Australia’s Campbell sisters gunning for history to Michael Phelps’ final stand, here are the must-watch races of the 2016 Olympics: Sat Aug 6 Men’s 400m Freestyle 9:30 pm…

via These Are the Must-Watch Swimming Races at the Rio Olympics — TIME