Five Bullets 6.27.25

Heat, Caves, Goats & more.

Good Morning and Happy Friday Friends!

We had a record-breaking heatwave here in New York City this week due to a heat dome which made temperatures feel like triple-digits. Hot and humid weather always reminds me of the ‘broiling days’ in The Great Gatsby but this week I’m thinking of Seinfeld references thanks to this video. Fortunately temperatures have returned to normal with some clouds and rain.

Here’s five bullets capturing my attention this week:

• The Rescue. I’ve been watching a lot of disaster and rescue content lately including this documentary about the incredible Tham Luang cave rescue. In 2018, 12 children from a local sports team and their coach became trapped in a flooded cave. Over 2,000 people assisted during the rescue including heroic efforts by divers who ultimately located and rescued the children 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave. If that sounds impossible, wait until you see how they did it! I was on the edge of my seat.

• Shining Girls adds a fresh take on the serial-killer thriller genre with a sci-fi twist. The series follows newspaper archivist Kirby (Elizabeth Moss) and reporter Dan (Wagner Moura) as they work to uncover a series of murders and stop the killer (Jamie Bell), only this mystery goes deeper than just 1990s Chicago. Based on Lauren Beukes book, the show reminded me of sci-fi series Dark Matter.

• Fungus Amungus. Radiolab investigates how a rare fungus turned up in several locations across the globe at the same time. This episode looks at the history of fungus and mammals. What’s the optimal temperature for humans to fight off fungi and not have to constantly eat food? 98.6°F, the average human body temperature.

• Living Colour is totally underrated so I never thought I’d see the hard-rock band from New York City behind NPR’s Tiny Desk. The band doesn’t exactly have a ‘small’ sound - with Vernon Reid’s shrieking guitar, Will Calhoun’s thundering drums, Doug Wimbish’s funky bass, and Corey Glover’s powerful vocals. The band played their hit Cult of Personality and a few tunes off their second album Time’s Up. I’ve been listening to this band ever since my dad showed me their 1989 SNL performance when I was kid and I’ve still got their first album on CD!

• Goatham returns. For the past five summers the Riverside Park Conservancy has brought in a herd of goats to help control invasive plant species. Goats can consume vegetation up to 25% of their body weight in a single day! The goats return next month with a competition dubbed The Great Goat Graze-Off. Which goat will finish their plants first?

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please subscribe to get a fresh five bullets in your inbox every Friday.

Have a great weekend.

-Keith