Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Overdose Deaths Have Surged During the Pandemic, C.D.C. Data Shows by NY Times: “More than 87,000 Americans died of drug overdoses over the 12-month period that ended in September, according to preliminary federal data, eclipsing the toll from any year since the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s.”

Everyone is tired. We need to give ourselves an actual break. by Christine Emba: “So instead of snapping back to normal once we’ve had our shots, we should take our newly recognized existential tiredness as an indication that it’s time to change course — to realize that we need to give ourselves an actual break.”

Log Off and Know that I Am God by Tish Harrison Warren: “Our habitual online discourse often trains us to undervalue the vast mystery of God—with all the wonder and worship it inspires—by immersing ourselves in sociological and theological commentary and debate. These conversations matter, of course. But we are in peril of replacing transcendence with immanence. We miss the deeper things of God for the Christian controversy du jour.”

Can Civics Save America? by George Packer: “By intent or blunder, the left and right are colluding to undermine the noble, elusive goal of giving American children the ability to think and argue and act together as citizens.”

Why personality cults and democracy don’t mix by Brian Klaas: “Poland’s authoritarian slide shows what can happen when devotion to lies becomes central to partisan identity. Republicans would be wise to keep that in mind — and voters would be wise to vote against a party that purges politicians for telling the truth.”

Overwork Killed More Than 745,000 People In A Year, WHO Study Finds by NPR: “People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week, the WHO says in a study that was published Monday in the journal Environment International.”

The Professional Women Who Are Leaning Out by men choosing part-time work—and loving it. by Olga Khazan: “Feminism, these women decided, doesn’t have to be all about work. Sometimes, in fact, it can mean relaxing a bit, especially in the middle of a global emergency.”

Child care has bipartisan support. But the culture war could wreck that. by Elliot Haspel: “Americans do, in fact, want a dizzying variety of care setups: secular child-care centers, faith-based options, home-based day cares, public prekindergarten, minding by relatives, care from a parent. These preferences can shift with children’s ages and family circumstances, and vary among demographics. While Biden’s child-care proposals are optional and inclusive of all types of external care, they are silent on stay-at-home parents.”

How to Pay Attention (an Unofficial Guide) by Ellen Koneck: “Attention fatigue. Exhaustion from the strain on my eyes and mind of focusing so long at the blurry sameness, trying to glean meaning from it day after day. Trying to attend to the things at hand despite the monotony and trying to attend to what matters most despite the disruption.”

“Forever wars” obscures more than it clarifies“Forever wars” obscures more than it clarifies by Brian Katulis: “The real forever war is the struggle against simply shrugging our shoulders, looking for simple answers, averting our eyes from how these conflicts impact people, and glibly declaring ‘bad stuff happens.’”