The Persistent

These days, whenever I walk into a gym or a fitness studio, I find myself remembering what it was like to be 18. Back then, nearly two decades ago, I was admitted to an inpatient clinic for severe eating disorders. I was skeletal. My periods had stopped. One of the cruelest things about anorexia is that by the time your body starts pleading with you for help, you're well past the point of being able to listen. It took me several years to get better: two hospital stays and a lot of therapy.

Imagine you're a woman considering applying for a job. You'd like to work. Your family would probably support it. Many of the women you know think it's a good idea. But ultimately, you decide not to apply. Why? Because you think people might disapprove. That may sound irrational, but new research suggests it's actually quite common.

The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 One hundred years ago, Martha Graham, arguably one of the most influential dancers and choreographers in U.S. history, founded her namesake dance company. It would become an institution of firsts: one of the first dance companies to be led by a woman, one of the first to be fully integrated, and, now, the oldest dance company in the United States.

Ask any reader or writer and you’ll likely get a story about a memorable high school English teacher in their past; someone who taught them to do their very favorite thing – write! read! – plus offered life lessons along the way. Then sit back and prepare for a juicy tale, one with plenty of good book recommendations in the mix. The thing is, there are good reasons to go back to some of these early favorite books.

Climate — 6 min read Fan, check. Ice cream, check. | Photo: Everett Collection The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 In late June, as a “heat dome” squatted sweatily over Europe, sending temperatures soaring into the three digits, my mums’ group chat morphed into a to-do list of things we should do to keep our kids cool.

Culture — 8 min read Screaming on the inside — from the movie, "Obsession" | Photo: Everett Collection The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 Almost 40 years before this summer’s hit movie “Obsession” took over the box office — earning a whopping $403 million globally despite its micro budget of $750,000 — a similar film, “Fatal Attraction,” was a cultural phenomenon.

Global Politics — 5 min read Andy Burnham took office as the U.K.'s new Prime Minister on Monday. | Photo: AP. The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 Great Britain has a new Prime Minister (again), and it’s a guy (again).

Music — 6 min read The soprano, Gabriela Di Lacco, painted by Natalie Newsome The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 “There are no women composers, never have been, and possibly never will be.” So declared British conductor Thomas Beecham. His swaggering remark published in the Vogue First Readerin 1944, is plainly untrue, yet it reflects a prejudice that has long marginalized female composers.

Sport — 3 min read Photo: Associated Press The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 Every major sports tournament brings with it a familiar debate and the FIFA World Cup, which concluded Sunday with Spain’s victory, was no different. The question: Should employers let staff leave early for kick-off? Is it reasonable to get into work late, the morning after a late-night match? Should offices screen games?

Careers — 4 min read Photo: Miguel Bruna on Unsplash The Persistent is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. 💛 In 1965, the Harvard Business Review published a survey of 2,000 executives — both women and men — asking about their attitudes toward female leaders. Twenty years later, researchers repeated the exercise. They did so again in 2006, and have continued tracking how perceptions of women in leadership have evolved at 20-year intervals ever since.