Links we love today

Alanis and Adele, Channing Tatum in a G-string, Kristin Wiig and Ben Stiller getolder and more

Here are the links we loved today:

New study wonders whether smart people are really just good at taking shortcuts.

10 facts about drinking culture in Russia.

If you want to see Channing Tatum in a G-string, good news! There’s a new Magic Mike trailer.

A brief visual history of early maps and atlases.

HBO used a severed George W. Bush head as a Game of Thrones prop, are forced to apologize.

Check out photos of Kristin Wiig and Ben Stiller (in character as an elderly couple) on the set of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Author Alix Ohlin writes about her experience with synesthesia.

Notorious addict and accomplished beauty editor Cat Marnell has left xojane; over at The Atlantic, Jen Doll discusses drug addiction and the internet.

ESPN explores the less glamorous side of being a professional athlete: What happens when you’ve really, really gotta go.

A new summer jam from Best Coast:

And a new video from Passion Pit:

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”