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In today’s edition, we run down the biggest headlines of the afternoon, remember noted American philanthropist Dolly Parton, and reconnect with our inner child. Have thoughts or feelings on what you read here? You can reach me directly by email. I’m at caitlin.dewey@voxmedia.com.

Caitlin Dewey, senior writer

You’ve probably read a lot about Dolly Parton over the last 24 hours: her songwriting genius, her generosity, her incredible hair. The country icon and philanthropist died Tuesday at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Her hits have been playing in my head ever since.

Parton’s influence extended far beyond her music, though. She was also a singular, centripetal force in American culture — a rare, unifying icon beloved on both the right and the left.

Her ability to project radical kindness without sounding naïve, and to address moral questions without looking partisan, inspired near-universal adoration at a time when Americans can agree on virtually nothing and no one else. And her strategic ambiguity around both her personal life and her political views allowed everyone from Christian conservatives to New York City gays to claim her as their personal representative.

Parton was, as Constance Grady wrote for Vox in 2021, “a secular American saint.” Now it’s hard to think of any living American who might be said to merit that praise. José Andrés? LeVar Burton? Tom Hanks, perhaps…? But they lack the glitter, the candor, the theme park — and the six decades of iconic music.

Dolly Parton’s other legacy

Core to Parton’s cultural canonization was her incredible generosity, which — on the wide spectrum of celebrity philanthropic giving — was both unusually down-to-earth and apparently, charmingly spontaneous.

“I just give from my heart,” Parton said in 2022 her acceptance speech for the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. “I never know what I'm going to do or why I'm gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”

The needs she saw were many and varied: children’s books. High school band uniforms. Bald eagle conservation. Research into the novel coronavirus, which eventually yielded Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine — a vaccine that Parton then vocally and memorably promoted.

I asked my colleague Sara Herschander, who has written a lot about philanthropy — including Parton’s! — to characterize how the later icon’s philosophy of giving jibes with norms in the space. As in so much of her life, Parton stands out.

“I think when many celebrities engage in giving, it can feel like a publicity stunt, or like someone swooping in,” Sara said. “But the way Parton let her childhood and personal connections guide her giving gave hers a unique character and a sense of authenticity and optimism — even as it was also, in many cases, quite effective and ambitious.”

Social media addiction: Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram after states accused the company of harming children.
Nepal floods: At least 160 people are dead and hundreds are missing in Nepal after floods came crashing down Himalayan river valleys on Wednesday.
On the podcast: President Donald Trump is racing to finish his ballroom — and if the Supreme Court doesn't stop him, it will have major implications for conservation efforts around the country. Listen to the whole thing here.

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➨ Play your heart out. Playful adults are less stressed out and more satisfied with their lives than their dour, self-serious neighbors. And yet, society tends to encourage playfulness almost exclusively among children. To tap into that state of levity and curiosity as an adult, experts suggest reflecting on the last time when you laughed so hard you cried, or when you truly lost yourself having fun. Then try dipping into that activity again, without any standards or expectations.

Did you know…that almost half of US adults don’t drink alcohol? The current US drinking rate — just 54 percent — is the lowest it’s been since pollsters started tracking it after Prohibition.
Today’s trivia: The singer Paul David Hewson is better known as what? (You can find this and other brain puzzles in Vox’s daily crossword. Look for the answer in tomorrow’s edition.)
Yesterday’s trivia: Yesterday we asked you for Minnesota’s state bird. That would be the loon, recently immortalized as a symbol of the state’s anti-ICE resistance.

Today’s edition was produced and edited by me, Caitlin Dewey. Thanks for reading!

Have thoughts or feelings on what you read here? You can reach me directly by email. I’m at caitlin.dewey@voxmedia.com.

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